U.S.-Italy Earns Best World Cup Overnight Since ’98 Final

A sports junkie’s dream weekend saw a full slate of marquee events. ABC’s coverage of the U.S.-Italy World Cup match on Saturday scored a 5.2/13 overnight Nielsen rating, the highest overnight for a World Cup match in the States since the ’98 final between Brazil and France. Meanwhile, NBC saw its U.S. Open ratings plummet despite Phil Mickelson’s attempt at a third-straight major, with Saturday’s third round falling 27% and Sunday’s final round down 13%. Also, NBC’s primetime coverage of Saturday’s Stanley Cup Finals Game Six fell 37% from the comparable double-OT thriller in ’04, while Mavericks-Heat Game Five on ABC last night earned a 10.2/19 overnight — its best overnight of the playoffs thus far — up slightly from last year but down 34% from ’04.

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