World Cup: ESPN Tracking 26% Above 2010
By Tim Baysinger published

ESPN’s coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup continues to track well above 2010, averaging 3.72 million viewers through the first 23 matches from Brazil.
That represents a 26% increase over the 2.95 million through the first 23 matches in South Africa in 2010. ESPN is also averaging a 2.3 household rating, which is 21% above South Africa.
The 3.7 million includes the record 11.1 million that saw the United States’ thrilling victory over Ghana on June 16; the same time frame from 2010 included two U.S. matches, including the highly watched USA-England match on ABC on Saturday, June 12, 2010. The United States faces off against Portugal on Sunday and tournament favorite Germany on June 26.
With matches at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. (all times ET), the host country has provided ESPN with a much more TV-friendly time zone than South Africa.
ESPN is also seeing heavy increases for its digital coverage, with its WatchESPN service averaging 783,000 viewers, up 160% over 2010.
Univision said its coverage of the 2014 World Cup is pacing ahead of 2010 by 45% among total viewers.
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