ESPN has scored once again for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The USA-Germany game played at noon ET received a 6.3 overnight rating, the third highest for a men’s World Cup match on ESPN. In the last quarter-hour, ESPN saw the rating peak at a 9.5.
WatchESPN which had troubles yesterday in handling the traffic of those wanting to see the game, had 1.7 million concurrent streams. That’s a record.
Locally, New York City topped all markets with a 9.7 rating and for the first time, we’re seeing a bunch of West Coast markets sprinkled into the Top Ten including San Diego, Sacramento, Seattle/Tacoma (ranked 2-4, by the way) and San Francisco (9th). Other Top Ten markets include Orlando, Baltimore, Columbus, West Palm Beach, Providence and Austin.
With the US’ next match on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m., the rating could be very good.
Here’s the ESPN announcement.
USA-Germany: ESPN’s Third-Highest Overnight Rating for a FIFA World Cup Match
ESPN’s daytime coverage of Thursday’s USA vs. Germany FIFA World Cup match – a 1-0 U.S. loss at Arena Pernambuco in Recife – averaged a 6.3 overnight rating, making it the third-highest overnight rating for a men’s World Cup match on ESPN/ESPN2, according to Nielsen. The coverage peaked from 1:45 – 2 p.m. ET with a 9.5 rating. In addition, WatchESPN set a platform-record 1.7 million peak concurrent viewers.
The metered market rating ranks behind USA-Portugal on Sunday, June 22 (9.1 overnight rating), and USA-Ghana on Monday, June 16 (7.0).
The top-10 metered markets: New York (9.7), San Diego (8.6), Sacramento (8.3), Seattle/Tacoma (8.1), Orlando (8.1), Baltimore (8.1), Columbus (8.1), West Palm Beach (7.9), Providence (7.6), San Francisco (7.2) and Austin (7.2).
To date, the highest-rated markets on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC are: Washington DC (4.0), New York (3.7), San Francisco (3.5), Orlando (3.1) and Los Angeles (3.1).
Fast national ratings and viewership numbers are expected to be available this afternoon.
It will be interesting to see the final numbers later today.
