Ratings Roundup: World Cup Semis Explode for ESPN, Univision; Bouchard Hands TSN Best Wimbledon Ever

ESPN’s telecast of Argentina’s shootout victory over Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup semifinal on Wednesday ranks as the highest-rated and most-viewed World Cup semifinal match ever on any U.S. network, averaging a 4.3 U.S. household rating and 6,823,000 viewers. Netherlands vs. Argentina surpassed the previous best World Cup semifinal – Brazil vs. Germany on day prior, which was seen by an average audience of 6,643,000 viewers based on a 4.2 rating.  This World Cup in Brazil has produced the top-two semifinal matches in the quadrennial tournament, and the 2014 semifinals average of a 4.2 U.S. household rating is up 56 percent from a 2.7 rating in 2010, and up 45 percent from a 2.9 rating in 2006. Additionally, the Netherlands vs. Argentina semifinal match ranks as the highest-rated and most-viewed World Cup match on ESPN or ESPN2 not involving the U.S. Men’s National Team. Baltimore (7.1), New York (7.0), and Washington, DC (6.9) led all markets.

Through 62 matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC are averaging 4,289,000 viewers and a 2.7 US household rating per match. The 2014 audience marks increases of 43 percent (vs. 2,989,000 in 2010) and 108 percent (2,060,000 in 2006) in viewers, and 42 percent (vs. 1.9 in 2010) and 93 percent (1.4 in 2006) in ratings. To date, the highest-rated markets on the ESPN networks are: Washington, DC (4.7), New York (4.4), and San Francisco (4.2).

For the second time in as many days, WatchESPN established new highs for a non-U.S. team soccer match, as 2.4 million unique viewers watched Wednesday’s Netherlands vs. Argentina semifinal for a total of 140 million minutes, providing a 12 percent lift to ESPN’s English-language television viewership. Netherlands vs. Argentina surpassed Tuesday’s Brazil vs. Germany semifinal, which had 2.1 million unique viewers and 90 million minutes viewed…

…Meanwhile, Univision Deportes’ presentation of the two World Cup semifinal delivered the network’s most-viewed World Cup semifinal round matches ever, averaging 5.6 million Total Viewers and 2.7 million Adults 18-49 for Brazil vs. Germany and Argentina vs. Netherlands. Univision Deportes’ coverage bested the previous semifinal high set on 7/7/10-7/8/10 by +34% among Total Viewers and +18% among Adults 18-49. The two matches rank as the two most-viewed semifinal matches in Univision Deportes history, averaging 5.8 million Total Viewers for Brazil vs. Germany and 5.4 million Total Viewers for Argentina vs. Netherlands. Argentina vs. Netherlands also received 1.2 million live stream, becoming Univision Digital’s most watched match since the Round of 16.

Unvision Deportes’ coverage of the 2014 World Cup has reached nearly 78 million Total Viewers. Univision Deportes’ coverage of the 2014 World Cup is pacing ahead of its 2010 World Cup coverage by +38% among Total Viewers and +25% among Adults 18-49 through 62 matches…

…Canadians Genie Bouchard appearance in the Wimbledon final and Milos Raonic run to the semis catapulted the tournament to the most-watched Wimbledon on record and the most-watched men’s and women’s finals ever in Canada. Overall, more than 10 million Canadians watched some part of this year’s Wimbledon on TSN and RDS. According to BBM Canada overnights, Saturday’s women’s final featuring Bouchard drew an average audience of 1.8 million viewers to TSN and RDS – making it the most-watched Wimbledon women’s final on record. Overall, 3.6 million unique viewers tuned in to watch Bouchard become the first Canadian singles player to compete in a Grand Slam final, with audiences peaking at 1.7 million viewers in the last few minutes of the match.

On the Men’s side, Sunday’s final (Novak Djokovic epic five-set win over Roger Federer) attracted an average audience of 823,000 viewers to TSN and RDS and a reach of 3.8 million unique viewers – making it the most-watched Wimbledon men’s final on record. On Friday, Raonic’s semifinal match averaged 766,000 viewers to TSN and RDS. The Raonic-Federer match reached 2.4 million unique viewers and peaked at 1.1 million viewers as Federer served for the win. The Wimbledon men’s doubles final drew an average audience of 319,000 to TSN and RDS and a reach of 2.2 million unique viewers…

…While Bouchard and Raonic’s presence provided a boost up north, ESPN limped to a 1.9 overnight rating for the Djokovic-Federer match. That is down slightly from a 2.0 rating for Andy Murray’s straight sets win over Djokovic last year, but down a whopping 39% from Federer’s four-set win over Murray in 2012 (3.1). The match is also tied with 2011 (Rafael Nadal/Tomáš Berdych on NBC) for the the lowest men’s final coverage since at least 1996.

The Women’s Final on Saturday pulled in a lowly 0.7 overnight, the lowest for a Wimbledon women’s final since at least 1994 and down 36% decline from last year (1.1 for Marion Bartoli/Sabine Lisicki final) and 65% from 2012 (2.0 for Serena Williams/Agnieszka Radwanska). (SportsBusinessDaily)…

…While the live Telecast of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPNEWS managed a 0.3 overnight rating while going head-to-head with Wimbledon on ESPN and World Cup on ESPN 2, an encore presentation of the event earned a 2.8 million viewers on ESPN2 Friday afternoon – the most ever, topping 1.9 million in 2011. That is also up 142% from last year (1.1M) and up 114% from 2011, when live coverage aired on ESPN in a later timeslot (1.3M). The record benefitted from a direct lead-in from the Germany/France World Cup match (4.9M), which earned the largest audience in the history of ESPN2. (SportsMediaWatch)…

…The second quarter of 2014 for MLB Network was their most-watched quarter of all-time, as MLB Network averaged a whopping 206,000 viewers in primetime and 105,000 over the full day, increases of 12% and 27% from the second quarter of 2013. Each month of the quarter also saw rises from 2013, highlighted by an April that saw MLB Network average 253,000 viewers in primetime and 126,000 total day viewers, both of which were records for any regular season month. May was up 24% in total day viewers from 2013, and June was up 11% from 2013. MLB Network’s studio shows also increased, as The Rundown increased its average viewer total by 42% from the second quarter of 2013, MLB Now with Brian Kenny was up 25%, Intentional Talk was up by 16%, MLB Tonight was up 30%, and Quick Pitch was up 20%. (Awful Announcing)…

…ESPN has also seen a jump of 13% for their live game coverage, and all three timeslots (Sunday Night, Monday Night, and Wednesday Night Baseball) are up across the board. (Awful Announcing)…

…NBCSN earned a 0.3 overnight for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Tour de France over the weekend, up 1% and even, respectively, compared to last year. Highlights on NBC earned a 0.4 (Saturday) and 0.5 (Sunday). (SportsMediaWatch)…

…Coverage of the NHL Draft earned a 0.2 U.S. rating and 337,000 viewers on NBCSN last month, the network’s largest audience ever for the event. Viewership increased 14% from last year (295K) and 63% from 2012 (207K). (SportsMediaWatch)