USA-Slovenia Sets A Record For A Soccer Telecast on ESPN

During a Sports Media Weekly Podcast with Paulsen of Sports Media Watch as the guest, Keith Thibault, Paulsen and myself all predicted that the ratings for the World Cup on ESPN/ABC would be very good. This is turning out to fruition with the ratings for USA-England and now, USA-Slovenia. ESPN has announced this evening that the viewership turned out to be the most watched soccer game in ESPN history as far as number of households is concerned. It’s the third most watched in total viewers.

We also have the number of viewers on ESPN3.com as USA-Slovenia took place while many Americans were at work. Here’s the press release from ESPN.

U.S. – Slovenia: ESPN’s Most-Watched Soccer Telecast

Rating for 23 Games on ABC & ESPN up 60% vs. 2006

Digital Platforms Set Records

Friday morning’s United States vs. Slovenia FIFA World Cup match on ESPN – in which the Americans overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a 2-2 draw – is the most-watched soccer game among households in the history of ESPN networks – 3,906,000, based on a 3.9 fast national rating for the two-hour contest (10 a.m. ET – noon). It ranks third most-watched among viewers (P2+ – 5,200,000), behind the Germany/Italy semifinal (5,850,000) on July 4, 2006, and the US/Germany quarterfinal on June 21, 2002 (5,335,000).

Through Friday, June 18 and 23 games on ABC and ESPN, the 2010 World Cup is averaging a 1.9 U.S. rating (for the two-hour match window) — up 60% from 2006 (1.2). Household impressions are up 66% (from 1,336,000 to 2,333,000) and P2+ impressions are up 71% (from 1,720,000 to 2,950,000).

San Diego was the top market for yesterday’s Team USA game, delivering an 8.5 rating – all the more impressive considering the 7 a.m. local start time. Rounding out the top five were Washington, DC (6.4), Miami (6.2), West Palm Beach (5.9), and San Francisco (5.7). San Diego was also the top market for the USA/England game on ABC (11.5).

USA/Slovenia Sets Records for ESPN3.com and ESPNRadio.com

• ESPN3.com – The U.S. vs. Slovenia was the most-viewed event ever on ESPN3.com with 798,911 unique viewers, including both live and on-demand viewing; 624,425 hours consumed; and an average time spent of 47 minutes.
• Live and replay World Cup matches have been viewed on ESPN3.com by almost 3.4 million unique viewers from June 11-18, generating 342.7 million minutes of viewing (over an hour and a half per viewer).
• ESPN.com – World Cup content (includes ESPN Soccernet and ESPNDeportes/cop-mundial) delivered 40.4 million visits and 137.9 million page views from June 11-18.
• ESPNRadio.com – the US vs. Slovenia game is the most-listened to stream in the 10-year history of ESPNRadio.com, reaching close to 100,000 concurrent listeners in the final moments of the game (source: ando media).
• ESPN Mobile — generated 1.8 million World Cup video views from June 11-18.

World Cup Schedule – Remainder of Opening Round
The third and final match for the U.S. in the Opening Round – Wednesday, June 23 vs. Algeria at 9:30 a.m. – will be aired on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN3.com and ESPN Radio. With a victory, the Americans would advance to the round of 16 and the start of the elimination tournament games.

Sun., 6/20 – 7 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Slovakia vs. Paraguay, Group F/Bloemfontein
Sun., 6/20 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Italy vs. New Zealand, Group F/Nelspruit
Sun., 6/20 – 2 p.m., ABC, Brazil vs. Ivory Coast, Group G/Johannesburg
 
Mon., 6/21 – 7 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Portugal vs. Korea DPR, Group G/Cape Town
Mon., 6/21 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Chile vs. Switzerland, Group H/Port Elizabeth
Mon., 6/21 – 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Spain vs. Honduras, Group H/Johannesburg
 
Tues., 6/22 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Mexico vs. Uruguay, Group A/Rustenburg
Tues., 6/22 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, France vs. South Africa, Group A/Bloemfontein
Tues., 6/22 – 2 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Nigeria vs. Korea Republic, Group B/Durban
Tues., 6/22 – 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Greece vs. Argentina, Group B/Polokwane
 
Wed., 6/23 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Slovenia vs. England, Group C/Port Elizabeth
Wed., 6/23 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, USA vs. Algeria, Group C/Pretoria
Wed., 6/23 – 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Ghana vs. Germany, Group D/Johannesburg
Wed., 6/23 – 2 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Australia vs. Serbia, Group D/Nelspruit
 
Thurs. 6/24 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Slovakia vs. Italy, Group F/Johannesburg
Thurs., 6/24 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Paraguay vs. New Zealand, Group F/Polokwane

Thurs., 6/24 – 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Denmark vs. Japan, Group E/Rustenburg
Thurs., 6/24 – 2 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Cameroon vs. Netherlands, Group E/Cape Town
 
Fri., 6/25 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Portugal vs. Brazil, Group G/Durban
Fri., 6/25 – 9:30 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Ivory Coast vs. Korea DPR, Group G/Nelspruit
Fri., 6/25 – 2 p.m., ESPN/ESPN360.com, Chile vs. Spain, Group H/Pretoria
Fri., 6/25 – 2 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN360.com, Switzerland vs. Honduras, Group H/Bloemfontein