The 18.2 million viewers surpassed the previous high of 17.97 million set by the 1999 Women’s World Cup final between the U.S. and China, ESPN and Univision announced today.
The 9.6 million households who watched makes it the highest-rated men’s soccer game ever on television, beating the 9.5 million households that watched the 1994 World Cup final.
(The rating for the 1999 Women’s World Cup final: 11.4 households).
ESPN Ratings in Los Angeles for all 2014 World Cup games are 3.7, fifth-highest in the nation.