ESPN's 2014 Qualifying Contest Is Second Highest Audience Rated World Cup Telecast
By: Caryn Robbins Jun. 13, 2013
Tuesday night's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying contest between the United States and Panama delivered ESPN's second most-watched and second highest-rated FIFA World Cup qualifying or international friendly match telecast. The match, a 2-0 win by the U.S. Men's National Team at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., was seen by an average 1.436 million viewers, 888,000 households based on a 0.8 U.S. household rating, according to Nielsen Media.
The viewers for USA-Panama trails only Mexico vs. USA on March 26, 2013, a telecast that delivered the record average audience with 2.385 million viewers and 1.644 million households, based on a 1.4 household U.S. rating on ESPN. Five Most-Viewed World Cup Qualifying or International Friendly Matches on ESPN: Date Match Network HH Rating P2+ (Viewers) Tue, March 26, 2013 Mexico vs. USA (WCQ) ESPN 1.4 2,385,000 Tue, June 12, 2013 USA vs. Panama (WCQ) ESPN 0.8 1,436,000 Wed, Feb 11, 2009 USA vs. Mexico (WCQ) ESPN2 0.7 1,191,000 Wed, May 30, 2012 USA vs. Brazil (Friendly) ESPN2 0.6 1,128,000 Wed, Feb 7, 2007 USA vs. Mexico (Friendly) ESPN2 0.6 1,091,000 San Diego was the top market for the match telecast, delivering a 2.5 rating. Rounding out the top five were: Seattle-Takoma, Wash. (2.5), Baltimore (2.1), Hartford-New Haven, Conn., (1.9), and Nashville (1.9). USA vs. Honduras - Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Men's National Team's campaign to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will continue on Tuesday, June 18, with USA vs. Honduras, live from Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, on ESPN and WatchESPN.Videos