Like the Germans, Univision Deportes Network was a winner with the 2014 World Cup from Brazil.
The cable network, which counts some 40 million subscribers and carriage on all of the nation’s top 10 distributors, sans Comcast, was converted into a de facto World Cup network from June 9 through the conclusion of FIFA’s famed tourney on July 13 and reaped Nielsen benefits.
During the quadrennial, Univision Deportes Network presented simulcasts of the 56 matches that aired on the U.S. Spanish-language media leader’s flagship Univision service, as well as match encores and assorted World Cup-related programming.
Over the course, UDN averaged 171,000 viewers in total day, a 256% jump from the similar span a year ago. Included in that audience were 93,000 18-to-49 watchers, up 244%.
In primetime, UDN scored with 123,000 viewers on average, including 73,000 of the set that Madison Avenue favors most. That was up 78% and 70%, respectively, from the year-earlier period.
With the World Cup, UDN jumped past more widely distributed sports services. According to network officials, the network topped Fox Sports in average audience by 27%, MLB Network by 50% and NBCSN by 71% in total day. The advantage was greater among the 18-to-49 set: 98% over FS1, 151% against MLBN, and 191% versus NBCSN.
