The Future of TV Sports: USA vs. Algeria Game Was the Most Watched Internet Event Ever. (Maybe)
Here's a World Cup viewership stat that should make you sit up and take notice. Sure, 6.2 million TV watchers tuned into Wednesday's USA vs. Algeria match -- but at least 1.1 million watched it on ESPN3.com, the sports property's broadband play. That's 15 percent of total U.S. viewership on ESPN, and a clear sign where we're headed as a sports-loving nation. (We'll save debates about whether the U.S. is finally a soccer-friendly country for another time.)
True, the game was played during work hours, when more people had a computer at the ready than a TV, but this stat is still a sign that our viewing habits are changing. Even more so than during past big events, I was struck by how many people in my tweetstream seemed to so clearly enjoy tweeting about the game as they watched. That watching-and-sharing behavior seems to be really attractive -- as though a game not commented upon by the vox populi is almost akin to a game not played.
Let me digress for a moment. On Friday, a feud broke out between ESPN and CBS (BNET's corporate overlord), over whether the USA vs. Algeria was, the most watched live sports event in Internet history, as ESPN claimed. CBS sent out a statement which claimed it was University of Florida vs. Brigham Young University during its March Madness on Demand coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament earlier this year, which had 1,115,097 viewers. Pulling out that stat seems a little odd because the chart sent to reporters by CBS of most-watched Internet events made the assumption that ESPN's 1.1 million was a precise figure and not a rounded one, which it almost certainly was.
There's plenty of room for debate here, and ESPN picked up the challenge. David Coletti, ESPN's senior director, digital media research, told Mediaweek that the audience figures it released didn't include non-English feeds which actually would have moved uniques higher than 1.1 million.
CBS may well counter argue -- if Saturday's USA vs. Ghana game didn't set a less open for dispute record -- but here's a word to the wise for both networks: Whatever. The important thing here is that your viewers' habits are changing, and the rush should be on to turn these broadband viewers into profitable ones. The convoluted particulars of this corporate pissing match -- particularly when there's room for error in any and all viewing statistics -- are irrelevant.
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