In winning the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday (July 5), the U.S. gained the hearts of Americans across the country. They also gained plenty of eyes.
Their 5-2 win over Japan in the World Cup final received a 6.4/23 rating on Fox, becoming the most-watched U.S. soccer match of all time, according to Deadline.com. The website reports that Sunday's final enjoyed a 44 percent increase in American viewership with 20.35 million tuned in to watch. That's up from the 14.1 million who seen the 2011 Women's World Cup championship, in which Japan defeated America.
The overall numbers trump the previous record of the 18.22 million Americans who watched the USA-Portugal game during the 2014 Men's World Cup on ESPN in June 2014. The final in Vancouver also had a 36 percent increase amongst adult viewership (18-49). And the big ratings didn't stop after the match either.
Well after the U.S. women defeated Japan, Fox's 9 p.m. post-game show did a 4.7/15 rating among the 18-49 demographic with 14.61 million Americans still glued to their television set.
Delving deeper into the ratings, U.S. star Carli Lloyd's quick two goals to start the match is when viewership peaked. No surprise there. Lloyd would add another goal as part of the U.S.'s unbelievable 4-0 start, one that they never looked back on en route to hoisting the World Cup trophy by the match's end.
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