The television numbers are in from the US national team's huge 2-1 victory over Ghana.
The match registered a 7.0 overnight rating on ESPN, good for second-highest rating for a group-stage match on record in the United States and the highest-ever rating for a men's soccer match broadcast on ESPN. And that's not counting the 1.4 million who watched via WatchESPN, the largest such audience.
The No. 1 match of all-time? USA vs. England in 2010, which got a 7.5 overnight rating. However, that game was on network TV (ABC) and it aired on a Saturday.
Let's not forget the numbers on Univision either, as there was an average of 3.8 million tuning in on Spanish-language television.
Here are some notable comparisons:
- The match was ESPN's highest-rated and most-viewed telecast since the BCS National Championsip coverage on Jan. 6.
- The combined World Cup ratings for ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, an average rating of 2.5 and more than 4.1 million viewers through the first 14 matches, marks a nearly 20-percent ratings increase over the 2010 tournament.
- The 2014 tournament has already delivered ESPN and ESPN2's four highest-rated and most-viewed group play matches not involving a United States team.
It wasn't just on TV that the ratings were astounding. On Twitter, the numbers were through the roof.
