ESPN/ABC Continue To Post Solid Numbers For World Cup

ESPN is averaging a 1.9/ (1,735,000 HHs) cable Nielsen rating, up 73% in ratings and 80% in households from ’02, for its 20 World Cup games. The network earned a 2.6/ (2,380,000 HHs) for the France-Portugal semifinal Wednesday, after earning a 4.1/ (3,740,000 HHs) for the Italy-Germany semifinal on Tuesday, the highest-rated non-U.S. game ever on ESPN. ABC is averaging a 2.6/ (2,883,000 HHs) Nielsen rating for 11 games, up 117% from a 1.2 rating in '02, when the games were tape-delayed, and up 13% from a 2.3 rating for live games in '98. ESPN2 averaged a 1.0/ (919,000 HHs) for 31 games, up 67% in ratings and 88% in households from ‘02. Through Wednesday’s semifinal, Univision is averaging a 1.4 rating and 1,504,000 viewers for a total of 62 games. Average viewers are up 117% from ’02 and up 79% from ’98 (THE DAILY).

GLOBAL POWER: The following lists final ratings from around the world for the three U.S. first-round World Cup games. Market shares are not available for U.S. cable telecasts (USA TODAY, 7/7).

GAME	COUNTRY (OUTLET)	AVERAGE VIEWERS	MARKET SHARE
U.S. vs. Czech Republic (June 12)	Germany (ZDF)	8,187,000	43.1
	Brazil (GLOBO)	14,388,000	45.1
	Czech Republic (CT 2)	1,304,000	43.9
	U.S. (ESPN)	3,818,906	NA
	U.S. (Univision)	1,900,000	NA
U.S. vs. Italy (June 17)	Italy (RAI1)	19,390,000	71.2
	Germany (ZDF)	11,623,000	45.3
	Argentina (Channel 11)	5,182,000	45.7
	U.S. (ABC)	6,732,655	12.0
	U.S. (Univision)	3,000,000	N/A
U.S. vs. Ghana (June 22)	Ecuador (LA TRI)	820,000	41.9
	Denmark (DR1)	260,000	23.0
	Malaysia (RTM2)	1,128,000	15.4
	U.S. (ESPN2)	2,754,724	NA
	U.S. (Univision)	1,700,000	NA

FLORIDIANS LOVE SOCCER: The Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach markets both have ranked among the top five markets for the tournament (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/7). However, in Miami, Barry Jackson reports more South Floridians are watching the matches on Univision than ABC/ESPN. Italy-Germany earned a combined 12.4 rating (9.1 on Univision, 3.3 on ESPN), while France-Portugal drew a combined 8.2 (6.9 on Univision, 1.3 on ESPN) (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7). In Orlando, Jerry Greene reports WFTV-ABC “beat the national average” with a 4.4/ (58,900 HHs) for Portugal-England on Saturday (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/7).

22.2 Million Tune Into France’s TF1 For Les Bleus’ Match Against Portugal

ON THE DEFENSIVE: ESPN/ABC’s Dave O’Brien, who has been criticized for his work during the World Cup, said, “I anticipated some criticism as the new guy. I felt as a mainstream sports announcer taking on soccer, I hoped I’d be welcomed by the soccer community. ... It’s a highly subjective business. For every 10 fans who adore John Madden, how many are throwing a shoe at the TV screen?” More O’Brien: “I never broadcast a televised soccer match before Jan. 29, so I’m more than open to suggestions.” The MIAMI HERALD’s Jackson writes, “The bottom line is this: O’Brien is a better broadcaster than Jack Edwards (who called the 2002 Cup) or ESPN’s No. 2 soccer man, JP Dellacamera” (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7). But USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand writes of O’Brien, “Calling the biggest Cup games isn’t the place to get your feet wet. ABC/ESPN should have put ... Dellacamera in its lead slot” (USA TODAY, 7/7).

ALL AROUND THE WORLD: French broadcaster TF1 drew 22.2 million viewers for the France-Portugal semifinal and a 76.7 share, the “best-ever audience on French television since the current measurement system was introduced in 1989.” Only one of France’s six World Cup games has drawn less than 18 million viewers. While TF1 has pulled in up to US$8M per game in ad sales, the net “expects to post a loss of close to [US$52M] on the tournament” since it paid US$127.6M for the rights to air 24 of the 64 matches. Meanwhile, Italy-Germany drew a record 28 million viewers for Italian broadcaster RAI, topping the old mark set during the ’90 Argentina-Italy semifinal. The game drew close to 29.7 million viewers on German broadcaster ZDF, becoming the most-viewed sporting event ever in the country, topping the ’90 Germany-Argentina final by 1 million viewers. ZDF and ARD, which paid a combined US$229M to share the broadcast rights, “are keeping mum as to the financial pay-off from the tournament” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/7).