Univision Goes Out From the World Cup on Top; Most-Watched WC Final in Network History

As Univision ends its long association with the World Cup dating back to 1972, it goes out on top with its most-viewed Final in the network’s history.

The Final between Germany and Argentina drew 9.2 million total viewers and an impressive five million in the key 18-49 age demographic.

For Univision, the entire month of 64 games was a win. The network reached a record of 81 million viewers up a whopping 65% from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In the Group Stage, Univision averaged 2.9 million viewers up 43% from 2010. In the Round of 16, the network averaged 4.4 million viewers, the most-ever for that round on Univision. Then the quarterfinal round saw another increase of 4.8 million viewers per game. And the semifinals averaged 5.6 million viewers so you can see Univision was gaining momentum into the World Cup Final.

Univision beat ABC in Houston and Miami on Sunday in total viewers.

Here’s the Univision press release.

ARGENTINA VS. GERMANY MATCH ON UNIVISION DEPORTES DELIVERS MOST-VIEWED WORLD CUP FINAL IN U.S. SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION HISTORY

Univision Deportes Delivers its Most-Viewed World Cup Tournament and Reaches Nearly 81 million Total Viewers


Univision Deportes’ presentation of the Argentina vs. Germany final match of FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ delivered its most-viewed World Cup final match ever, averaging 9.2 million Total Viewers, along with 5.0 million Adults 18-49. The match bested the previous World Cup final high set on 7/11/10 (Netherlands vs. Spain) by +4% among Total Viewers. The match aired on the Univision Network, which was simulcast on Univision Deportes Network (UDN), on Sunday, July 13, 2014.

Univision Deportes’ presentation of the entire FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ tournament set new ratings records, delivering record viewership for every World Cup round. Univision Deportes’ coverage of the entire 2014 World Cup outdelivered its 2010 World Cup coverage by +34% among Total Viewers, +21% among Adults 18-49, and +40% among Persons 2-17.

The record breaking numbers did not stop there!

  • Univision Deportes coverage of the 2014 World Cup reached a record 80.9 million Total Viewers, +65% more than the 2010 World Cup (49.1 million). Impressively, 32 matches into this year’s tournament, Univision Deportes’ had already surpassed the entire 2010 World Cup reach.
  • Univision Deportes delivered its largest World Cup group stage audience ever, averaging 2.9 million Total Viewers and 1.5 million Adults 18-49, up by +43% and +31% vs. 2010 World Cup, respectively. The matches aired on the Univision Network, which was simulcast on UDN, and the UniMás Network, which was simulcast on Galavisión, from Thursday, June 12, to Thursday, June 26, 2014.
  • Univision Deportes delivered its most-viewed World Cup round of 16 audience ever, averaging 4.4 million Total Viewers and 2.3 million Adults 18-49, up by +22% and +10% vs. 2010 World Cup, respectively. The matches aired on the Univision Network, which was simulcast on UDN, from Saturday, June 28, to Tuesday, July 1, 2014.
    • On 6/29/14, Univision Deportes delivered the most-viewed telecast in U.S. Spanish-Language television history with the Mexico vs. Netherlands match which averaged 10.4 million Total Viewers and 5.8 million Adults 18-49.
  • Univison Deportes delivered its most-viewed World Cup quarterfinal matches ever, averaging 4.8 million Total Viewers and 2.5 million Adults 18-49, up by +28% and +14% vs. 2010 World Cup, respectively. The matches aired on the Univision Network, which was simulcast on UDN, on Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, 2014.
  • Univision Deportes delivered its most-viewed World Cup semifinal matches ever, averaging 5.6 million Total Viewers and 2.7 million Adults 18-49, up by +34% and +18% vs. 2010 World Cup, respectively. The telecasts rank as the two most-viewed semifinal matches in Univision Deportes history. The matches aired on the Univision Network, which was simulcast on UDN, on Tuesday, July 8, and Wednesday, July 9, 2014.
  • Univision Deportes’ coverage of the 2014 World Cup bested the 2014 NHL Playoff’s average on NBC by +128% with Total Viewers and +136% among Adults 18-49.  The Argentina vs. Germany match on Univision Deportes outperformed the 2014 NHL finals on NBC networks by +108% with Total Viewers and +148% among Adults 18-49.
  • During the 2014 World Cup, Univision Deportes Network increased viewership by +256% among Total Viewers and +244% among Adults 18-49 in total day and by +78% among Total Viewers and +70% among Adults 18-49 in primetime.  Univision Deportes Network bested FS1 by +27%, MLB Network by +50%, and NBCSN by +71% among Total Viewers in total day.  Univision Deportes Network bested FS1 by +98%, MLB Network by +151%, and NBCSN by + 191% among Adults 18-49 in total day.

Source: The Nielsen Company, NPM, Fast Nationals, L+SD data. Fast cume with 1 minute qualifier.

LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS:

During the Argentina vs. Germany match, Univision stations outdelivered the same match on ABC (3:00 p.m.-5:45 p.m. ET) among:

  • Total Viewers in Miami and Houston.
  • Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles and Miami.
  • Adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Phoenix.

With the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup, Univision and UniMás stations have seen viewership growth compared to 2010 among:

  • Total Viewers in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Phoenix.
  • Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Sacramento.
  • Adults 18-34 in New York, Dallas and Sacramento.

With the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup, Univision and UniMás stations have outdelivered the average audience of ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Dallas among Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34; and in Phoenix among Adults 18-49.

Among Adults 18-49, 2014 World Cup matches ranked among the top 10 most watched programs* on the station:

  • In Los Angeles, the Mexico vs. Netherlands match on 6/29/14 ranked as the #6 program on the station; and in Dallas the same match ranked as the #4 program on the station.
  • In Miami, the Argentina vs. Germany final (7/13/14) ranked as the #2 program; Brazil vs. Colombia (7/4/14) ranked #3; Netherlands vs. Costa Rica (7/5/14) ranked #8; and Costa Rica vs. Greece ranked #10.

Source: The Nielsen Company, NSI, (7/13/14), Argentina vs. Germany match time 3:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. ET.  Live game across time zones.  Growth comparisons, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 comparison and most watched program comparisons based in program average impressions.  *Most watched program comparison started the year each market began LPM measurement: 2004: Los Angeles, 2006: Dallas, 2008: Miami.  Live +SD.

DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS:

25 for 25; Univision Digital recorded its 25 highest trafficked days during the 2014 World Cup.

  • Twenty five days of the 2014 World Cup (excludes rest days) are the top twenty five most visited days in Univision Digital history.  Monday, June 23, tops the list as Univision Digital’s highest traffic day ever with 10.3 million visits.

Univision Digital 2014 World Cup coverage reached 27.5 million unique visitors across platforms.

  • Since the start of the 2014 World Cup on June 12, 2014, over 27.5 million unique visitors accessed Univision Digital’s Copa Mundial site and app section.

Univision Digital 2014 World Cup live streams reached 10 million viewers, 4x larger than 2010 World Cup.

  • Univision Digital’s live stream coverage of the 2014 World Cup reached 10.0 million unique viewers, 4x larger than Univision’s 2010 World Cup digital coverage. Univision Digital’s live stream reach of the 2014 World Cup added a +12% lift to the Univision TV audience.

Univision Digital 2014 World Cup live streams averaged 1.1 million per match, +232% more larger than 2010 World Cup.

  • Univision Digital averaged 1.1 million live streams per match, a +232% increase over 2010 World Cup’s per match average.

Univision Digital 2014 World Cup live streams recorded 29 million hours, 3x longer than 2010 World Cup.

  • Univision Digital recorded 29 million hours of live streaming, nearly triple the hours of video streamed for the 2010 World Cup matches.

2014 World Cup USA vs. Belgium match recorded the most live stream viewers ever on Univision Digital, reaching 1.8 million unique viewers.

  • The USA vs. Belgium match on July 1 is Univision Digital’s largest live stream event ever, reaching 1.8 million unique viewers. Univision Digital’s USA vs. Belgium live stream added a 14% incremental reach to linear.

2014 World Cup Mexico vs. Brazil Match Outperformed WatchESPN’s live stream reach of the same match.

  • The Mexico vs. Brazil match on June 17 recorded 1.6 million unique viewers, outperforming WatchESPN’s 1.3 million unique viewers for the same match.

Univision Digital 2014 World Cup traffic was 87% mobile compared to 37% for 2010 World Cup.

  • In 2014, 87% of World Cup traffic on Univision Digital was via a mobile device, compared to 37% for the 2010 World Cup.

Univision Deportes recorded 3.4 million downloads during 2014 World Cup, ranked #1 among free sports apps in Google Play Store.

  • The Univision Deportes app has recorded over 3.4 million downloads since the beginning of the 2014 World Cup, four times the number of downloads recorded for the app in 2013.  The app held the No. 1 free sports app rank in the Google Play Store for twelve consecutive days (June 12 to June 25, 2014).  The app has consistently ranked among the top three free sports apps in the Google Play Store since the start of the 2014 World Cup on June 12, 2014. 

Source: Adobe Analytics, Distimo, Neulion and @ESPNResearch Twitter Account

SOCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

The World Cup included 20 of the most social telecasts in Univision history of which the top two were:

o   Brazil vs. Germany with 5.6M Tweets.

o   USA vs. Belgium with 1.5M Twitter unique.

  • No. 1 across all English and Spanish language broadcast networks in terms of Twitter unique and Tweets for 21/25 match days in tournament.
  • No. 1 in the Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings (NTTR) Daily Top Five Sports Event list in terms of unique audience on Twitter for 9 matches.
  • The 2014 World Cup on Univision generated 55M Tweets, over 2x the Tweets of Super Bowl XLVIII on FOX.
  • The 2014 World Cup Final between Argentina and Germany on Univision had:
    • More unique authors on Twitter than the last match of the 2014 NBA Finals on ABC.
    • +5x the unique authors on Twitter vs. the last match of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final on NBC.
    • +6x the Tweets vs. the last match of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final on NBC.
  • +2x the engagement on Facebook vs. ESPN on a normalized basis.

Source: Expion

That is all.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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