The United States’ opening game in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup made history by breaking viewership records, dominating the prime-time ratings. The match between the U.S. and Vietnam drew a combined 6.44 million viewers for its English- and Spanish-language broadcasts. Fox’s English-language coverage averaged 5.263 million viewers, making it the second-most watched group stage telecast on U.S. English-language television. Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage averaged 810,000 viewers.
This outstanding viewership is a testament to the growing popularity and significance of women’s soccer, as well as the high level of support for the U.S. women’s national team. The game showcased the United States’ prowess on the field, as they secured a 3-0 victory over Vietnam.
The U.S.-Vietnam match follows the trend of consistently high viewership for women’s soccer. The previous record for the most-watched group stage telecast on U.S. English-language television was set during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup when the U.S. faced Chile, averaging 5.337 million viewers.
In terms of prime-time ratings, the U.S.-Vietnam match reigned supreme. It surpassed other popular programs, including NBC’s America’s Got Talent, which averaged 5.63 million viewers, making it the second-lowest of the summer’s seven episodes.
CBS took the lead among the major broadcast networks, continuing its streak as the most-watched network for the fifth consecutive week. ABC secured the second spot, followed by NBC in third place.
Fox, the network airing the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup games, attracted an average of 1.74 million viewers for its prime-time programming. However, outside of the World Cup coverage, their most-watched program was the Baseball Night in America regional telecasts on Saturday, which averaged 1.934 million viewers.
Meanwhile, The CW managed an average of 300,000 viewers for its programming, with the historical drama The Chosen emerging as its most-watched show for the second time since its airing.
In the cable news arena, Fox News Channel continued its dominance as the most-watched cable network, with a 25.8% increase in viewership. MSNBC and Hallmark Channel followed in second and third place, respectively. CNN maintained its position as the third most-watched cable news network, and overall, it secured the 12th spot.
Netflix’s most-watched title for the second consecutive week was the Korean drama series King The Land, with viewers dedicating 65.1 million hours to watching it. Additionally, the Spanish post-apocalyptic horror thriller Bird Box Barcelona gained significant viewership, with 35.5 million hours watched in its first full week of release.
In Spanish-language programming, the Premios Juventud awards on Univision averaged 1.968 million viewers, ranking 51st for the week. Univision retained its position as the most-watched Spanish-language network.
In the realm of nightly newscasts, ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir maintained its dominance as the most-watched program, while NBC’s Nightly News with Lester Holt secured second place, followed by the CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell in third.
The United States’ stellar performance in the opening game of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup demonstrated the nation’s dominance on the global soccer stage. With record-breaking viewership and a display of skill and passion, women’s soccer continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
