Saturday's Women's World Cup Final between the U.S-
China earned a 13.3/32 overnight Nielsen rating on ABC and
in Houston, David Barron writes that ABC "officials were
dumbfounded but ecstatic" with the rating. L.A. "had the
largest audience" among the overnight markets with a 20.8,
followed by DC with a 19.0. Barron notes that the final
national rating "likely will drop a smidgen when the rest of
the country is figured in, but it still should surpass" the
12.8/39 rating for the Brazil-Italy match for the '94 men's
World Cup Final in L.A. (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/12). In L.A.,
Mike Penner reports the 20.8/53 in L.A. was "comparable to
an NFL playoff game" (L.A. TIMES, 7/12). In N.Y., Rell &
Mosconi note that Saturday's final "drew higher ratings than
this year's Stanley Cup and NBA finals." ABC Sports Dir of
PR Mark Mandel: "You don't see these numbers unless you're
watching the NFL. If this event were on a Sunday afternoon,
these numbers would be through the roof" (N.Y. POST, 7/12).
USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke notes ABC's "conservative pregame
estimate" of 16 million viewers "more than doubled to a
stunning U.S. soccer record of 40 million. That's 3 1/2
times larger than the previous high for a women's soccer
audience" (USA TODAY, 7/12). ABC's telecast began with a
7.6 at 3:30pm ET, but rose to an 18.8 from 6:15-6:30pm ET
and concluded with a 16.1 from 6:30-6:45pm ET (N.Y. TIMES,
7/12). ABC's Charles Gibson's take on the TV rating: "Three
times the number of people that saw the hockey Stanley Cup
Finals and more people than watched the NBA" ("GMA," 7/12).
REAX: In Orlando, Jerry Greene writes that ABC's
telecast of the WWC final "was awful. Not only was there no
analysis, there were no Chinese. ABC's crew apparently
believed the U.S. team was alone on the field" (ORLANDO
SENTINEL, 7/12). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir wondered whether
China "matter[ed] to ABC Sports" during the telecast as "the
team's strategies and personalities were shorted as if the
players were faceless automations" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/11). In
Boston, Jim Baker: "Followers of the Chinese team ... had a
legitimate beef with far too strong a U.S. slant" (BOSTON
HERALD, 7/12). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that ABC's
telecast "represents a low point for a major TV sports
event," as ABC "booted many opportunities to make the game
more understandable to the millions of new viewers who tuned
in." Asked why the net didn't show the Chinese team's
reaction to Brandi Chastain's winning penalty kick, ABC/ESPN
Producer Bill Graff said, "We got caught up in the
jubilation of the Americans" (USA TODAY, 7/12). In Toronto,
Chris Zelkovich: "It wouldn't be fair to say ABC played
homer in this breakthrough game but coverage was about as
one-sided as it gets" (TORONTO STAR, 7/12). In N.Y., Phil
Mushnick writes ABC "virtually ignored the Chinese side,
before, during and after the game." But Mushnick goes on to
thank both ESPN and ABC "for investing the time, money and
energy to televise so much of the" '99 WWC (N.Y. POST,
7/12). In CA, Randy Youngman: "Overall, ABC's coverage and
commentary were excellent, if not entirely impartial"
(ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/11). In Boston, Howard Manly
noted that "not all the commentary was America first," as
ABC's Wendy Gebauer "was good in putting the penalty kicks
in perspective, saying no team should win or lose that way."
But Manly added, "No one will remember the missed replays,
the lack of analysis for casual fans or the pro-American
slant. Talk about homers" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/11).
ALL HYPE? On "The Sports Reporters," ESPN's Mitch Albom
said the U.S. "media behaved shamefully and irresponsibly"
during its coverage of the WWC. Albom: "It is our job to
report on it. It is not our job to get in the front of the
parade and start doing this with the baton. ... There is a
point at which you're supposed to be a little skeptical of
something that has been hyped up" (ESPN, 7/10).
