World Cup quarterfinals average 10M-plus viewers in US on ESPN and Univision

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The four World Cup quarterfinals averaged more than 10 million viewers in the United States combined on ABC, ESPN networks and Spanish-language Univision.

Host Brazil’s 2-1 win over Colombia in a 4 p.m. EDT kickoff Friday on ESPN was the most-viewed of the game with 11.84 million: 6.35 million on ESPN and 5.49 million on Univision. The Netherlands’ penalty-kicks victory over Costa Rica following a 0-0 tie in the late game Sunday on ESPN was seen by 10.92 million: 5.79 million on ESPN and 5.13 million on Univision.

In the noon EDT kickoffs, Germany’s 1-0 win over France on Friday on ESPN2 was viewed by 9.6 million (4.89 million on ESPN and 4.71 million on Univision) and Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Belgium on ABC was seen by 8.81 million (5.18 million on ESPN and 3.63 million on Univision).

The overall quarterfinal average was 10.29 million.

ESPN said Sunday its quarterfinal average of 5.58 million on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 was up 29 per cent from 2010’s 4.34 million and 68 per cent from 2006’s 3.32 million. Its 60-game average of 4.19 million marks a 42 per cent increase from 2.95 million in 2010 and a 114 per cent rise from 1.96 million in 2006. The two 4 p.m. matches were the most-watched quarterfinals in the history of ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.