World Cup 2022: 16.5 million Americans tuned in to USA’s loss against Netherlands
Julia Johnson
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On Saturday, 16.5 million people in the United States watched the U.S. Men’s National Team lose in the World Cup’s round of 16 to the Netherlands.
The team, led by captain Tyler Adams, lost 3-1 in the tournament-ending match. The Netherlands will go on to face Argentina in the quarterfinals. Argentina similarly bested Australia 2-1.
Per Fox, an average of 12.9 million people watched the USA game, including around 600,000 who utilized its digital streaming platform.
Telemundo reported that 3.58 million in America watched its broadcast. This included 1.26 million tuning into its streams running on both Telemundo and Peacock.
While this match did not live up to prior viewership, the recent U.S. meeting with England broke records with 19.9 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo. The matchup was on Black Friday at 2 p.m.
As noted, Saturday’s viewership was less than that of the U.S.’s last few rounds of 16 appearances, but some reports say that the early weekend morning time slot may have something to do with that.
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The U.S.’s last round of 16 match in 2014, when it lost 2-1 in extra-time to Belgium, was viewed by 18.1 million on ESPN and Univision. The game took place at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, whereas 2022’s game was at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. In 2010, the team lost in extra time to Ghana, 1-0. Kicking off at 2:30 p.m. on a Saturday, 17.9 million Americans watched on both ABC and Univision.
The top U.S. markets for the Netherlands matchup were Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, MO; Washington, D.C.; Kansas City, MO; and Austin, Texas. Kansas City is one of the 11 U.S. cities that will host 2026 World Cup matches.