The FIBA World Cup "did not have a dream final for either its fans or for Mediaset," according to Fernando Morales of EL PAIS. The "unexpected elimination" of Spain in the quarterfinals "was a very heavy burden for an audience that chose TVE-1 and Antena 3 on Sunday night." Just 1.47 million viewers -- a market share of 9.1% -- watched the U.S. defeat Serbia in the finals. That game drew a smaller audience than the Spanish team's tournament debut against Iran, which drew an audience of 1.58 million. This put basketball "below two of its competitors: TVE-1 drew an audience of 2.93 million spectators to its airing of the movie 'Hancock' and Antena 3's broadcast of the movie 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' drew 2.91 million viewers." The FIBA World Cup "became from the start a headache for Mediaset." First, "it was the criticism from fans and players for the sparse presentation of games -- both live and on delay -- in the group stage." The only "positive for Mediaset has been the Spanish team's games." Against Egypt, in the second game of the group phase, 1.74 million viewers tuned in. For Spain's next two games, against Brazil and France, the audience was 3.1 million and 3.8 million, respectively (EL PAIS, 9/16).