FS1 drew 4.72 million viewers for the U.S.-Colombia FIFA Women’s World Cup Round of 16 match on Monday, marking the net’s third-best audience ever for any telecast. The audience ranks below only Games 4 and 5 of the ’14 Giants-Cardinals NLCS. However, U.S.-Colombia ranks as FS1’s most-viewed program all-time among adults 18-49, passing “UFC Fight Night: McGregor-Siver” from Jan. 18. U.S.-Colombia also is the second-best audience for the WWC to date, including all matches on Fox. St. Louis topped all markets for Monday's match with a 5.3 local rating, followed by DC (5.0) and Philadelphia (4.9). The match drew 120,000 uniques on Fox Sports Go, passing ’14 World Series Game 7 as the app’s most-viewed simulcast. Looking at competition on Monday, the U.S.-Colombia game on FS1 was the most-viewed show for the day on all of cable TV. But the game was below several scripted shows on broadcast nets. Other head-to-head sports in primetime included Game 1 of the Vanderbilt-Virginia College World Series final on ESPN (1.23 million viewers) and White Sox-Twins on ESPN2 (357,000 viewers) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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TOP PRIMETIME SHOWS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 22
|
| SHOW |
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
| "The Bachelorette" |
ABC
|
8:00-9:00pm
|
6,769
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| "The Bachelorette" |
ABC
|
9:00-10:00pm
|
6,393
|
| "American Ninja Warrior" |
NBC
|
9:00-10:00pm
|
6,304
|
| "NCIS: Los Angeles" |
CBS
|
10:00-11:00pm
|
6,257
|
| "American Ninja Warrior" |
NBC
|
8:00-9:00pm
|
5,804
|
| "Mike & Molly" |
CBS
|
8:30-9:00pm
|
4,813
|
| FIFA Women's World Cup: Round of 16: U.S.-Colombia |
FS1
|
7:39-9:57pm
|
4,716
|
| |
|
|
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KEEP ON TALKING: In Chicago, Philip Hersh wrote former USWNT D Cat Whitehill "talks a little too much" as an analyst during Fox' WWC coverage, but it is "worth it to get the incisive commentary and justified criticism of the U.S. team’s play she has delivered in her role" (
CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 6/23).
PLAYER PERSPECTIVE: In Cincinnati, Shannon Russell writes while former U.S. women's national team D Heather Mitts served as a reporter for SEC Network during the '14 football season, her role as a Fox Sports studio analyst for the WWC "is her best fit yet." The job "marries Mitts' experience as an accomplished defender with her deep knowledge" of USWNT players. Mitts said, "I respect them and what they tell me and also I just want to see them do well. But it also allows me to share a little bit of inside scoop as to what's going on from a USA perspective." She said that is is "not tough at all" being critical toward former teammates. Mitts: "I feel like I can word things in a way where they're still positive. I know that the girls are always giving their full effort and trying their hardest. I know that they want to be the best." Russell notes Mitts "always wanted to pursue sports broadcasting in a greater capacity once she retired from professional soccer" in '13. Her work days "are long, some up to 12 hours." Mitts said that "she has loved every bit of them." But she noted one drawback was the "lack of time to 'really be able to explain or get into the detail or in-depth the way you want" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/24).
