13 Jul 2010

World Cup final most watched football match in US

11:21 am on 13 July 2010

The World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands was the most-watched football game in US television history, drawing 24.3 million viewers.

The final on the ABC network and Spanish-language Univision outdrew the June the 26th US-Ghana match, which attracted 19.4 million viewers, and the 18.1 million viewers for the 1994 Italy-Brazil World Cup final.

The 1999 USA-China final of the women's World Cup drew 18 million viewers while the June the 12th match between the US and England, the opener for both teams at the 2010 World Cup, drew 17.1 million.

By comparison, February's Super Bowl, between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts drew a record 106.5 million viewers in the United States.