The group stage matches at the ’19 FIFA Women’s World Cup averaged 967,000 viewers across Fox, FS1 and FS2, up 6% compared to 916,000 in ’15 despite the time zone difference between broadcasts in France this year compared to Canada four years ago. This year’s group stage also was up 73% compared to ’11 from Germany, which aired on ESPN/ESPN2. Fox averaged 3.88 million viewers on Thursday afternoon for the USWNT's 3-0 win over Sweden in the group stage finale, marking the fourth-best WWC group stage audience on record. The figure includes an average minute audience of 142,386 viewers on Fox Sports Go digital outlets, marking the most-streamed WWC telecast on record (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
A GLOBAL HIT: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Laine Higgins noted the WWC is "on pace to break several viewership records" both in the U.S. and across the globe. FIFA is estimating that "nearly 1 billion people could tune in this summer," compared to 750 million people in '15. The viewership jump is due in part to global broadcasters deciding to "give female footballers prime-time slots on broadcast networks instead of cable channels." Telemundo, who is airing Spanish-language broadcasts in the U.S., has also "seen its viewership grow this summer" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/22).
