SAO PAULO (AP) — The United States’ 1-0 loss to Germany was the second-highest rated men’s World Cup match on ESPN’s networks despite the noon EDT kickoff.
The game received a 6.7 rating on ESPN and was seen by 10.77 million viewers, ESPN said Friday. Viewers peaked at 12.06 million during the final half hour.
With the early start for Thursday’s game against Germany, the match was seen by a record 1.05 million on the WatchESPN app.
The game trailed only last weekend’s 2-2 draw between the U.S. and Portugal, which received a 9.6 rating and was seen by 18.22 million viewers on ESPN and 24.7 million overall, including Spanish-language coverage on Univision.
The Americans’ opening 2-1 victory over Ghana on June 16 got a 6.3 rating and 11.09 million viewers. The first two games started at 6 p.m. EDT.
Having advanced to the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time, the U.S. plays Belgium in the Round of 16 on Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT.
The rating is the percentage of viewers tuned to the program among the households the network is available in.
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