<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Sunday afternoon’s Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany on ABC was watched by 2.4 million overnight households according to numbers announced by Nielsen Media Research.&nbsp; That gives the broadcast a 3.1 overnight rating based on&nbsp;the 77 million households in America&nbsp;which make up the overnight numbers.&nbsp; That number is a little more than double the 1.5 overnight rating ABC got for its broadcast of the Netherlands v Russia quarterfinal last weekend.
So, first, a quick dose of reality; the number obviously pales in comparison to the 8.6 overnight rating&nbsp;the network got&nbsp;for the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy.&nbsp; That’s not a surprise given the higher profile of the World Cup, but it shows there were a considerable number of casual sports viewers who have watched soccer&nbsp;and did not tune in.&nbsp; Also, that number is certain to go down once the&nbsp;last batch of&nbsp;households with televisions, mostly in rural areas,&nbsp;are counted up later in the week.&nbsp; For example, the Netherlands-Russia match saw a 20% drop in its rating once these were added, going from 1.5 to 1.2.&nbsp;&nbsp;Assuming a similar percentage drop for this match would&nbsp;put&nbsp;the final rating down to around 2.5.
However, that number also gives ESPN and owner Disney a reason to smile.&nbsp; At 2.5, ABC’s performance for the Euro 2008 final would equal the national rating picked up by Univision for its American broadcast of another continental championship: last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final between the United States and Mexico.&nbsp; What this shows is that there is a noteworthy, if smaller,&nbsp;audience on American television for big event international soccer outside the World Cup, both with and without local teams to drive it.
So, what does ESPN do now?&nbsp; Well, while these results are good, it’d be hard to justify using them for the purpose of adding European league soccer, given they are far more dragged out&nbsp;events (months instead of weeks)&nbsp;and can’t guarantee big star affairs every single time.&nbsp; On top of that, most of the European leagues already have deals for this season tied up.&nbsp; And for next season, the only contracts due to run out&nbsp;in the US are for&nbsp;Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.&nbsp; It’d be hard to capitalize on the momentum of this tournament without any big leagues coming straight away to the network.
What ESPN could do next, however, is try to solidify their position as the home of big event international soccer.&nbsp; The network already has the rights to next year’s Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.&nbsp; 2011 could see the network try to pick up the Gold Cup or Copa America, either of which offer English and Spanish language possibilities, and then ESPN would&nbsp;finish the cycle by&nbsp;getting Euro 2012.&nbsp; Another move might see ESPN expand its portfolio when it comes to online broadcast rights through ESPN360.&nbsp; They already have the online rights to Serie A and the&nbsp;Russian Premier League, and most American broadcasters have done little in this area to make use of those rights.&nbsp; The other networks might be receptive to parting with their online rights to pick up some additional cash.&nbsp; ESPN360 was a major success during the tournament, with eight of it’s 10 most watched single events being Euro 2008&nbsp;matches, and it’s an area they can try to expand on right away.
Wherever it goes from here, Euro 2008 represents a step forward for soccer on ESPN, and is a moment worth celebrating.&nbsp; Now fans will have to wait and see for what the network’s next step ahead is going to be.

ABC Gets 3.1 Overnight Rating For Spain-Germany Final: So What&#039;s Next For ESPN? - World Soccer Talk

ABC Gets 3.1 Overnight Rating For Spain-Germany Final: So What's Next For ESPN?

As we head into the final weekend of Euro 2008, ESPN&nbsp;decided to take&nbsp;the occasion yesterday to put out a new press release talking about how the tournament is doing viewership wise through the quarterfinal round.&nbsp; So, what did they have to&nbsp;say?
As noted in the headline, the Spain v Italy quarterfinal shown on ESPN Sunday was the most watched Euro 2008 match before the semifinals.&nbsp; The&nbsp;game scored a 1.4 rating, with 1.39 million homes and 1.91 million viewers tuning in.&nbsp; Given these were two of the highest-profile teams in the tournament, the result doesn’t come as much of a surprise.&nbsp; Overall, in six matches shown on the ESPN, the average rating is a .9, with 835,000 homes and 1.1 million viewers.&nbsp; Compared to the same time slot (2:30-5PM eastern)&nbsp;on ESPN&nbsp;in 2007, this represents an 80% increase in rating, a 90% increase in households, and a 116% increase in total viewers from the network average.
Meanwhile, ESPN2 in 16 matches aired&nbsp;has a .5 rating with 506,000 homes and 635,000 viewers, which&nbsp;respectively represent a&nbsp;67%, 59%, and 75% increase on&nbsp;ESPN2’s average for the same time slot in 2007.&nbsp; And the online video service ESPN360 has had it’s biggest month in history between Euro 2008, the US Open, and Wimbledon, with eight of the 10 most viewed single events being Euro matches.
As for the one game broadcast on ABC, the Netherlands v Russia&nbsp;quarterfinal finished with a 1.2 rating&nbsp;and 1.84 million viewers according to ratings site <a href="http:\/\/tvbythenumbers.com/2008/06/27/top-sports-shows-june-16-22-celtics-celebration/4267">TV by the Numbers.</a>&nbsp; Compared to other Saturday afternoon sports broadcasts, it roughly fell in the middle of the pack.&nbsp;&nbsp;The match finished well behind FOX Saturday Baseball and the Men’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials on NBC, but it did finish ahead of the rest of NBC’s afternoon sports lineup and the PGA Tour on CBS.
Overall, the&nbsp;ratings seem fairly&nbsp;positive given this is an event without an obvious American interest and with most of its matches falling in the middle of the workday. Positive enough to ensure its return in four years time, or to cause ESPN to bring in more European soccer? We will have to wait and see. For now, the focus will be on a big finish with Sunday’s soccer doubleheader on ABC, with the LA Galaxy&nbsp;playing DC United in MLS action&nbsp;before the Germany v Spain final.

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ABC Gets 3.1 Overnight Rating For Spain-Germany Final: So What's Next For ESPN?

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