US Women’s World Cup win sets ratings record

The US national team’s victory over Japan in the final of the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup attracted a record television audience for a football match in the US.

Figures from audience measurement company Nielsen revealed that the final, which the US won 5-2, was watched by 26.7m viewers. This figure topped the previous record of 26.5m, which was set when Germany beat Argentina in the 2014 men’s World Cup final.

The Fox Sports division of US network Fox said its English-language coverage of the 2015 final drew an average of 25.4m viewers. This is a record for English-language coverage of football in the US, beating the previous record of 18.2m for the 2-2 draw between the US and Portugal during the 2014 men’s World Cup.

Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, owned by US media company NBCUniversal, said its broadcast of the final averaged just under 1.3m viewers.

Data from Nielsen showed an audience peak of 30.9m towards the end of the game, with 43.2m tuning in for some portion of the final.

The previous high for a women’s match in the US was just under 18m for the 1999 Women’s World Cup final, in which the US beat China on penalties. The game was broadcast by US network ABC.