TV ratings down for World Cup opener
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Russia fans celebrate in Nikolskaya street after their team defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match of the 2018 soccer World Cup, in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday.
The overnight rating from major markets of the World Cup opener was less than half of the overnight for the first game of the 2014 tournament, hurt by a much earlier kickoff and less glamorous teams.
Host Russia’s 5-0 rout of Saudi Arabia, which kicked off at 5 a.m. Thursday in Hawaii, got a 1.6 average in metered markets, according to Nielsen Media Research. That was down from a 3.4 for Brazil’s 3-1 win over Croatia four years ago on ESPN, which started at 10 a.m. HST. South Africa’s 1-1 tie against Mexico in 2010 resulted in a 2.3 for a 4 a.m. kickoff in Hawaii.
The overnight rating is the percentage of television households tuned to a broadcast among television households in the 56 major metered U.S. markets.
