The Copa América Centenario is set to be the biggest international men’s football tournament hosted in the United States since the 1994 World Cup, and interest in soccer in the country has grown significantly over the last 22 years. The 2014 World Cup Final set US television records, exceeding expectations as 26.5 million people tuned in to watch Germany defeat Argentina in extra time.
The interest in the World Cup Final was despite the game not featuring the US Men’s National Team, whose early progress had excited the nation. Their group stage victory against Ghana attracted the biggest US television audience for a non-World Cup Final football match up to that point, with 16 million people tuning in. Their draw with Portugal smashed the same record, with an average of 24.7m viewers. The US Women’s National Team followed up that progress last summer as a record 26.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the USWNT’s 5-2 victory in the 2015 World Cup Final against Japan.
The 2015 Copa América saw 14 million people tune into the group stages on beIN Sports in the United States, with 1.5 million watching the final. The presence of the USMNT is expected to hugely increase interest in this year’s tournament, to the point that Kathy Carter, President of Soccer United Marketing, Major League Soccer’s commercial arm, predicts strong interest in the tournament: “This event is going to be so big that we believe that it will equal or exceed domestic television ratings for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and we all know how much that event grabbed hold of the country.”
The tournament also has a strong presence on social media, as players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and James Rodriguez are among the world’s most followed athletes. The Copa América was the top sporting event on Twitter in 2015, with 14 billion impressions over the three week tournament – 5 billion more than March Madness in second and the Women’s World Cup in third. The tournament was also a hit on Facebook, as 59 million users generated around 309 million posts, comments and likes during the tournament.
The appetite for information from the general sports fan continues grow, with fans searching for the latest news and data to keep up-to-date with the teams they follow and inform fantasy line-ups. STATS can power the content you need, with solutions available in a variety of easy-to-use formats from statistics and data feeds to customisable graphics. STATS’ data feeds save you time and eliminate technical integration headaches, whether you are looking for statistics, scores, standings, previews or reports for the Copa América.
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The Copa América Centenario will be broadcasted in 185 countries across the globe as the worldwide interest in soccer will peak like never before in a non-World Cup year, with Euro 2016 also commencing during the tournament.
Click here to find out more about the solutions STATS is offering to pro teams, broadcasters and digital media companies during the Copa América Centenario.
