ESPN’s last World Cup before turning over the broadcast rights to Fox Sports is off to a good start: Monday night’s USA-Ghana match was the most-watched men’s soccer match ever on ESPN or ESPN2, drawing 11.1 million viewers per minute.
11.1 million people per minute watched USA-Ghana, making it most-viewed men’s soccer match ever on ESPN or ESPN2
— ESPN Research (@ESPNResearch) June 17, 2014
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Through the first 11 games, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC have averaged about 3.7 million viewers, according to Bleacher Report.
Another Disney property, ABC News, is piggybacking on World Cup fever: the network has produced its own version of ESPN’s “I Believe” World Cup ad, with cameos from James Goldston and David Muir, among others. Goldston sent the video along to ABC News staffers yesterday, along with an invite to watch the game with him at PJ Clarke’s on the Upper West Side (we hear about 60 people showed up for the event).