The 1-0 victory by Spain in extra time over the Netherlands drew record numbers of TV viewers: Univision reported 8.821 million and ABC reported 15.45 million viewers according to Nielsen. According to FIFA, the worldwide television audience for the World Cup Final was more than 700 million.

An amazing perspective emerges when the TV viewing audiences for the 2010 World Cup final are compared with other sports. 

If anyone doubted that America has become a soccer nation, here are a few factoids to help bring soccer’s new popularity into crystal clear focus. 

 

Soccer vs. Basketball: More people watched the World Cup final than 2010 NBA Playoffs (ABC averaged 10.970 million for its 16-game coverage).  

Soccer vs. Baseball: More people watched soccer than every single Major League Baseball game since 2004.

 

San Diego ranks in the top 10 markets for Sunday’s four-hour telecast trailing San Francisco by less than a point.

The Top Ten: San Francisco (14.7), San Diego (13.6), New York (13.1), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (12.0), Washington, D.C. (11.9), Los Angeles (11.3), Austin, Texas (10.4), Seattle-Tacoma (10.0), Cincinnati (9.5), and Boston (9.1).

 

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup was an overwhelming success for ESPN,” said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president of content. "The TV rating is only a little piece of the story. One of every three people watched on something other than the television at their home, either watched in a bar, or on their phone, or in their office on a computer."

TV Viewership is expected to soar when Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup, as popularity of the sport continues and because the majority of the soccer games will be in prime time instead of early morning airings.