World Cup Final smashes TV records in US, Japan - IFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
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The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Final set a new television audience high for football in the United States and topped previous competition figures for Japan, capping an inspiring month in Canada that has underlined the global popularity of women’s football and the growing success of FIFA’s flagship women’s competition.
An average audience of 25.4 million fans in the United States watched their team beat Japan 5-2 live on FOX, the best viewing figures for any football match broadcast on U.S. television. The figures beat the previous high set during the USA-Portugal men’s match at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil and surpassed the women’s football viewing record from the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. It was also higher than the viewing figures for every game from the NBA Finals.
Telemundo’s Spanish-language channel attracted a further 1.3 million viewers in the United States – the most watched FIFA Women’s World Cup match on record for Spanish-language television in the United States.
Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV drew an average audience of 11.6 million for the game, compared to an audience of 9.8 million for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament, when Japan won the title.