ESPN Posts Record Ratings for Soccer Telecast

STAMFORD: The U.S. taking on Algeria in the World Cup on Wednesday gave ESPN its highest ratings ever for a soccer match, delivering some 6.2 million viewers in its 10 a.m. to noon EST broadcast.

The game also ranked as the highest-rated program of the day on any network among males 18 to 34 and 18 to 49. Through June 23, the 40 games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a 1.8 ratings, a 40-percent increase on 2006. ESPN is also seeing gains for its digital platforms. The U.S./Algeria match attracted close to 1.1 million unique viewers on ESPN3.com. Through June 23, 5 million viewers have watched the World Cup on ESPN3.com and consumed more than 9.2 million total hours. Meanwhile, June 23 was the most-trafficked day to-date for World Cup content across all of ESPN’s mobile platforms.

The U.S. takes on Ghana tomorrow on ABC.