World Cup Final Breaks U.S. Soccer Viewership Record

NEW YORK: Sunday’s World Cup Finals between Spain and the Netherlands drew a total of 24.3 million U.S. viewers, making it the most watched soccer game in U.S. television history, according to Nielsen. The figure, which includes viewership on both ABC and Univision during the two-and-a-half-hour game--2:30 to 5 p.m. ET--surpasses the record 19.4 million viewers who tuned in to the U.S.-Ghana World Cup 2010 match June 26.

Throughout entire, month-long World Cup event, an estimated 111.6 million U.S. viewers watched at least six minutes on English- or Spanish-language networks. The figure is a 22 percent increase from the reach of 91.4 million U.S. viewers during the 2006 World Cup.

The top five 2010 games in terms of U.S. viewership:














San Francisco logged the top market in terms of English-language viewership with a 14.5 local household rating. Next was San Diego, Calif., with a 13.6; and New York at 13.1.















The Spanish-language telecast on Univision earned its highest ratings in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale with a 16.8 rating. Los Angeles and Houston followed with 11.5 and 10.2 local household ratings, respectively.

 (Reveler image by Ingvar Sverrisson)