U.S. soccer ratings top NBA Finals

[Eleazar]

NEW YORK -- An estimated 21.6 million people watched Belgium knock out the United States in the World Cup on U.S. television -- an impressive total for a weekday afternoon that almost certainly undercounts how many people actually saw it.

The Nielsen company said Wednesday that 16.5 million people watched the game on ESPN, with 5.1 million more seeing it on the Spanish-language Univision network. In addition, nearly 1.7 million people watched an online stream of the event, Nielsen said.

The record U.S. television audience for soccer is the 24.7 million who saw the United States play Portugal on June 24, which tied the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.

The Portugal game took place on a weekend, however, when there were more people with free time available to watch. The U.S.-Belgium game started at 4 p.m. on the East Coast, earlier in other time zones, during a working day.

Nielsen does not measure viewership in bars, offices or other public places. In 2010, ESPN estimated that the stated audience size for weekday World Cup games would increase by 23 percent if public viewing were taken into account.

Still, Tuesday's knockout game exceeded the average viewership for the most recent World Series and NBA Finals, events that took place during prime-time when more people were home to watch.

The just-concluded NBA Finals where the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat averaged 15.5 million viewers, with 18 million watching the final game. Last fall's World Series averaged 14.9 million viewers, with 19.2 million watching the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the last game.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said on Wednesday that everyone connected with the soccer team is excited to see how the sport is reaching a U.S. audience. He could see it coming, given the popularity of the game among young people and the large crowds that turned out for the team's sendoff games before the World Cup.

"Soccer is breaking through and gets its deserved recognition without taking anything away from the other big American sports," Klinsmann said.

He said it's important for people to identify with the way Americans played the game.

"The energy and the commitment and the tempo and the aggressiveness that we played with kind of made people proud at home and surprised a lot of people outside of the United States, maybe in Brazil or in Europe," he said.

The highest overall ratings for the U.S.-Belgium game came in New York, Nielsen said.

ESPN said that overall viewership for the World Cup is up 44 percent over 2010.

[Bambi]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Educated fans will take the nba; it's a far superior game.

Just like the nfl is far superior to the CFB. Obviously professionals are better.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

And with the huge nationalism element gone now, the remaining World Cup games will get nothing close to that in the US.

Call your shot

[ModSocks]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I'd be perfectly happy if they just ignored it if they don't like it.

I can't think of any other entertainment or enjoyment medium that has more people popping in to tell others how much they dislike it.

I don't go to SoapOperaPlanet, or RealityTVPlanet to tell people there that I think their shows suck and only gay people watch them.

I don't go to VeganPlanet or IHeartBrussellsSproutsPlanet to tell that that their diet sucks and only gay people eat that way.

Maybe its just me.

Agreed.

Hearing them bitch about it is a lot like listening to a woman trying to figure out football.

"I don't get it. All they do is run around in tights trying to tackle each other. It's so stupid..."

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Call your shot

You really don't think a ton of people will stop watching now?

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

In the interest of BB comity, I feel constrained to point out that, while I might rib you about your weight on occasion, I DON'T think you're 'Stanley on Free Pretzel Day' fat.

[Kansas City Kid]

So the biggest soccer audience in US history can't even come close to a Thursday night Browns-Ravens NFL audience on TV.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

In the interest of BB comity, I feel constrained to point out that, while I might rib you about your weight on occasion, I DON'T think you're 'Stanley on Free Pretzel Day' fat.

Ha!

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Yea, there was a game 7 in...what was it...2013? I am reading it got 26 millionish.

The point I'm trying to make is that this doesn't mean very much. It doesn't mean NBA basketball is in decline or that soccer in the US is on the rise. You can point to other data if you want to make arguments for either or both of those points, but this article that Cochise posted isn't the way to do it.

[KCUnited]

Shocking direction this thread took.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Its KU basketball fans around these parts that generally think NBA basketball sucks.

Not me, certainly.

[ModSocks]

Originally Posted by Kansas City Kid

So the biggest soccer audience in US history can't even come close to a Thursday night Browns-Ravens NFL audience on TV.

You can't compare ANY sport to football in the U.S.

It's a stupid argument. The NFL is wildly popular. What does that have to do with the growth of soccer?

[mr. tegu]

If there is one thing I have learned watching the World Cup, its that the vast majority of the players are not that good at scoring the ball. They can manipulate it, pass it, run with it, but when it comes time to shoot the ball they are not very good.

Sure a few get lucky here and there, but I would expect more consistency from the players. I cannot believe how horrible and off target some of their "shots" are. I used to think scoring would go up if some rules were changed, but now I realize the problem is not the rules, its the players.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

And why does that matter? Are their numbers excluded when talking about the other major sports?

Last time i checked Mexicans also like football and baseball.

It doesn't matter, but Zach said that "Mexicans suddenly become US fans", when in fact they don't have to be to tune in and boost ratings.

Last time I looked soccer is far and away more popular than Baseball and football for Hispanics.

I could be wrong, but probably not. I count hundreds of hispanics on the soccer fields around here compared to few on a baseball diamond or football field.

Dodge City and Garden City have a huge hispanic population that are from the heart of Mexico.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I'd be perfectly happy if they just ignored it if they don't like it.

I can't think of any other entertainment or enjoyment medium that has more people popping in to tell others how much they dislike it.

I don't go to SoapOperaPlanet, or RealityTVPlanet to tell people there that I think their shows suck and only gay people watch them.

I don't go to VeganPlanet or IHeartBrussellsSproutsPlanet to tell that that their diet sucks and only gay people eat that way.

Maybe its just me.

You might have a valid point if this board was called SoccerPlanet.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

If there is one thing I have learned watching the World Cup, its that the vast majority of the players are not that good at scoring the ball. They can manipulate it, pass it, run with it, but when it comes time to shoot the ball they are not very good.

Sure a few get lucky here and there, but I would expect more consistency from the players. I cannot believe how horrible and off target some of their "shots" are. I used to think scoring would go up if some rules were changed, but now I realize the problem is not the rules, its the players.

Well the bell curve and sample size is.... "the world" so maybe finishing is harder than you are giving credit for? You're watching the best in the world in a sport the world plays.