US/England Match – Highest Ever First Round TV Rating

If you’re reading this, there is a good chance you were one of the nearly 13 million viewers who watch the US vs. England opening round match of the World Cup.

According to media ratings, the two-hour match window averaged a 7.3 household rating (8,391,000 households and 12,956,000 viewers) based on fast nationals. The three-hour telecast, which included one hour of pre-match coverage, delivered a 6.1 household rating (7,034,000 households, and 10,763,000 viewers). In addition, 3.8 million watched on Univision Communications Inc.’s Spanish-language broadcast network.

These numbers are proof of the huge increase in popularity soccer has seen in the United States. Also, further proving that Southern California is a  hot bed for soccer, San Diego led the major national markets with a rating of 11.5, followed by San Francisco at 11.2, Las Vegas at 11.0, Cincinnati at 10.8 and Salt Lake City at 10.2 rounding out the top 5.