ABC Posts 8.6 Overnight Nielsen Rating For World Cup Final

ABC Earns 8.6/19 Overnight Nielsen Rating For World Cup Final

ABC earned an 8.6/19 overnight Nielsen rating for its coverage of the Italy-France World Cup final yesterday, up 110% from a 4.1/16 for live coverage of Brazil-Germany in ’02, and up 25% from a 6.9/17 for the France-Brazil final in ’98, the last time the event was held in Europe. The ’02 match aired live at 7:00am ET, while a replay at 1:00pm earned a 2.8/7. Also, ABC’s coverage yesterday during the 4:30-5:00pm ET time slot, when the decisive penalty kicks were held, earned a 10.7/22 overnight (THE DAILY). Tuesday’s Italy-Germany semifinal was seen in 3.8 million U.S. homes, “making it the best-rated non-U.S. World Cup game ever on ESPN.” Through the semifinals, each World Cup game has averaged about 2.3 million viewers on either ESPN or ABC. ABC has averaged about 3.8 million viewers, while ESPN2 has drawn about 1.1 million viewers per game, “way above its usual average.” Univision and Telefutura have averaged 2.3 million viewers, “on par with, and in some instances better than, ESPN and ABC” (N.Y. POST, 7/8). Univision and Telefutura each averaged 1,242,000 adults 18-49, compared to 1,156,000 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Miller Tabak & Co. analyst David Joyce said of the Spanish-language networks, “It’s been probably their best World Cup ever. I think the expectations have been slightly exceeded, so the advertisers should be happy” (AP, 7/8).

EBB & FLOW: In S.F., Meredith May noted “some sports observers are even saying this year’s World Cup ratings are a blip.” The ’02 tournament games started between 11:00pm and 6:00am ET, “compared with midday this year, and the U.S. team held more promise this time around.” But USSF Dir of Communications Jim Moorhouse “predicts the World Cup will captivate more Americans every four years in a slow and steady climb.” Moorhouse: “Sixteen years ago, no one in this country knew what it meant to compete in the biggest event in the world” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/8). On Long Island, John Jeansonne wrote World Cup ratings “continue to climb in the [U.S.] while those of virtually every other major sports championship — in an era of cable television diversity — have been slipping for years” (NEWSDAY, 7/9). USSF President Sunil Gulati, in a guest column in this week’s SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, writes, “Perhaps this World Cup will be remembered as the time when U.S. interest in the World Cup started to match that across the globe” (SBJ, 7/10).

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: In N.Y., Eric Pfanner writes under the header, “Old Media, Not New, Is World Cup Winner.” While “reports on the use of new media have been sketchy, it appears that it played a mostly supplementary role” during the tournament. Mobile TV “gained some traction in Australia, where match times were unfavorable for conventional viewing.” Initiative analyst Kevin Alavy said that through the semifinals, “television audiences in 49 of the largest markets rose an average” of 15% from ’02. And “given that the number of television channels available to many households in Europe has proliferated in the last eight years, ‘the World Cup has done better than a lot of other programming in dealing with fragmentation’” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/10).

ROCKY BALBOA: In Ft. Lauderdale, Jeff Rusnak wrote the “purists weren’t entirely off base” in criticizing ESPN/ABC lead World Cup play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien, “though it seems their frustration should have been directed” at analyst Marcelo Balboa. Balboa’s “experience didn’t register either in his analysis of the play, which was rudimentary and repetitious, or his feeling for the drama being played out on the field. To be fair, the criticism should be leveled at ABC/ESPN and U.S. soccer officials who hired Balboa to do an A-list event for which he’s not quite ready” (SUN-SENTINEL, 7/9). But SLATE.com’s Robert Weintraub, who has worked for ESPN in the past, wrote O’Brien “and his colleagues have done a creditable job.” O’Brien “has improved noticeably since the opening games,” and he has “been prepared, on top of shifts in tactics and momentum, and has a good sense for the tone of the occasion. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s got one of the best voices in the industry. ... [But] I will not defend [Balboa].” His playing experience “is worthless” (SLATE.com, 7/7).