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Univision scores with soccer, gets record audience

The contest between Mexico and Argentina became the most-watched program ever for a Spanish-speaking network in the United States.

The Associated Press
June 30, 2010 at 7:27PM
Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain, right, rolls over Mexico's Ricardo Osorio during World Cup play.
Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain, right, rolls over Mexico’s Ricardo Osorio during World Cup play. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

While many eyes were focused on the United States' World Cup match against Ghana last weekend, the contest between Mexico and Argentina became the most-watched program ever for a Spanish-speaking network in the United States.

The Nielsen Co. estimated that nearly 9.4 million people watched Argentina eliminate Mexico on Univision on Sunday. An additional 5.5 million people watched that game on ESPN. That topped Univision's previous high, the 9 million people who watched the finale for the telenovela "Destilando Amor" in 2007, according to Nielsen.

"It's very indicative of the changing face of America and consequently the growth of soccer in the United States," said Cesar Conde, Univision president. "That's a great trend on both fronts."

The U.S. team's loss to Ghana on Saturday was seen by 19.4 million people, which was the largest audience for soccer on U.S. television. Nearly 15 million of that audience was on ABC, with the rest tuning in to Univision. The Discovery Network had its biggest audience ever for "Deadliest Catch," which drew 5.4 million people to see how the cast would cope with the death of the popular character Capt. Phil Harris.

CBS won the week in prime-time, averaging 6.2 million viewers.

1 America's Got Talent, 8 p.m. Wed. (NBC)

2 America's Got Talent, Tue. (NBC)

3 NCIS (CBS)

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4 Wipeout, Tue. (ABC)

5 The Mentalist (CBS)

6 Two and a Half Men (CBS)

7 The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

8 The Bachelorette (ABC)

9 NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

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10 Wipeout, Thu. (ABC)

11 60 Minutes (CBS)

12 CSI: Miami (CBS)

13 America's Got Talent, 7 p.m. Wed. (NBC)

14 Rookie Blue (ABC)

15 CSI: NY (CBS)

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16 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)

17 So You Think You Can Dance, Thu. (Fox)

18 Hell's Kitchen, 8 p.m. Tue. (Fox)

19 So You Think You Can Dance, Wed. (Fox)

20 Flashpoint (CBS)

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