June 13 - About 13 million people tuned in to watch the United States draw with England in the World Cup on ABC last night - making it the fifth most-watched game ever in the US, the network announced.
That is fewer people than watched the NBA finals but more than tuned in for the Stanley Cup hockey games and is the most people who have watched the US play in a match overseas.
The most-watched games were the 2006 final between Italy and France, the 1994 US versus Brazil game and the 1994 Brazil versus Italy final.
The most-watched soccer game in US history remains the 1999 Women’s World Cup final between the US and China.
The numbers pale compared to the final of American football – the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl victory on CBS, which set a viewership record of 106.5 million.
Spanish-language TV network Univision averaged 3.8 million viewers for the US versus England match but had 5.4 million watch Friday’s South Africa-Mexico game – a World Cup Opening Day viewer record in the US.