21.6 Million Watch US-Belgium Match on ESPN, Univision

By Merrill Knox 

tim howardBetween ESPN and Univision, 21.6 million viewers watched yesterday’s U.S.-Belgium World Cup match — 16.5 million on ESPN and another 5.1 million on Univision.

The game — a heartbreaking overtime loss for the U.S. team to Belgium — was the second most-viewed men’s soccer match in the United States ever, according to ESPN. ESPN’s telecast peaked from 5:30 to 6 p.m., during overtime, with 19.5 million viewers.

The game drew viewers away from cable news from 4-6pmET, too: Fox News averaged 1,249,000 total viewers and 127,000 A25-54 viewers during that two-hour block, while MSNBC averaged 280,000 total viewers and 53,000 A25-54 viewers and CNN had 247,000 and 28,000 viewers, respectively.

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