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Business of TV Sport
Sportel Monaco 2011

US World Cup audiences up 60 per cent

US television audiences for the 2010 Fifa World Cup on Disney-owned networks ABC and ESPN are so far up 60 per cent on the 2006 tournament in Germany four years ago.
ESPN’s coverage of the USA’s 2-2 draw against Slovenia was watched in 3.906 million households, the most ever for a football match in ESPN’s history, attracting 5.2 million viewers.

The first 23 games up until last Friday on ABC and ESPN averaged a 1.9 rating, up 60 per cent from a 1.2 rating at a similar point in 2006. Average households watching were up 66 per cent and average viewers 71 per cent.

A total of 3.4 million unique viewers have watched live and on-demand matches on ESPN3.com.