World Cup TV ratings: Where did KC rank nationally after U.S. victory in final?
Maybe if Nielsen, the audience measuring system, included the thousands watching the World Cup final at the Power & Light party on Sunday, Kansas City would have been the top local television market for overall ratings.
As it is, third isn’t bad.
The top three markets for the the entire World Cup were Austin, Texas, San Diego and Kansas City. The ranking was originally published by Washington Post soccer reporter Steven Goff.
Twice, Kansas City boasted the top local market TV rating, in the pool play game against Thailand and the quarterfinal contest against France.
For the championship game, a U.S. 2-0 victory over the Netherlands, Kansas City was fourth in local market ratings with a 12.9 and 32 share, trailing Austin, San Diego and Washington, D.C.
The championship game, which kicked off in France, around 10 a.m., Central time, was the third highest rated Women’s World Cup final. It earned a 100 overnight rating, down 34 percent from the U.S.-Japan final in 2015. That game took place in Canada and was aired in prime time.
As good as the ratings were in the United States, the numbers were remarkable in the Netherlands, where 5.5 million people tuned in. The country’s population is 17 million.
This story was originally published July 8, 2019 at 11:52 AM with the headline "World Cup TV ratings: Where did KC rank nationally after U.S. victory in final?."