ESPN programing today announced a switch of networks for the two simultaneous UEFA EURO 2012 matches on Saturday, June 16, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. The matches – Czech Republic vs. Poland and Greece vs. Russia, the last of three Group A matchups – will flip networks. Czech Republic vs. Poland, originally scheduled for ESPN2, will now air on ESPN, while Greece vs. Russia, previously scheduled for ESPN, now moves to ESPN2. See updated schedule below.
Ian Darke and Steve McManaman to Call Portugal vs. Netherlands:
ESPN’s lead English-language commentator team of Ian Darke and Steve McManaman will provide match commentary for Portugal vs. Netherlands, a key final match in the tournament’s Group of Death (Group B) on Sunday, June 17, at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. Also, the team of Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe will call Denmark vs. Germany at the same time on ESPN2. All four teams in the group remain in contention to advance.
Continued Strong Ratings for UEFA EURO
Through eight matches, ESPN’s English-language presentation of the event is averaging 978,000 households and 1.260,000 viewers -- up 172 percent and 183 percent, respectively, versus the first eight games of the UEFA EURO 2008 (360,000 households and 446,000 viewers in '08). Wednesday’s Group B games also produced strong overnight ratings, according to Nielsen. The Netherlands-Germany afternoon matchup posted a 1.2 overnight rating, while the earlier Denmark-Portugal game posted a 0.9 overnight.
The top 10 metered markets through the first 10 matches include: New York (1.9), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (1.8), Los Angeles (1.3), Providence (1.3), Jacksonville (1.3), Washington, DC (1.2), Richmond, VA (1.2), Atlanta (1.2), Greensboro-High Point, NC (1.2) and Austin, TX (1.1).
ESPN Deportes has also delivered strong ratings for UEFA EURO 2012, averaging a 3.0 Hispanic household coverage rating (+58 percent from 2008) with 157,000 Hispanic households (+131 percent from 2008) through the first eight matches.
ESPN Digital Platforms
Through the first six days of EURO 2012, ESPNFC.com globally logged over 970,000 average daily visitors, 24.2 million total page views and more than 93.6 million total minutes (source: Adobe/Omniture). Compared to ESPNsoccernet.com during the same time period for EURO 2008, the site is up 38 percent, 43 percent and 244 percent, respectively. The site also reached as high as 1.1 million unique visitors on Wednesday, June 13.
Wednesday’s Netherlands vs. Germany match on ESPN3 and WatchESPN across computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox was the highest performing match so far in the tournament, logging 395,000 unique viewers, 17.3 million minutes and an average minute audience of 115,283 to both English and Spanish language feeds. Additionally, Denmark vs. Portugal pulled in a strong audience with 318,000 unique viewers, 13.8 million minutes and an average minute audience of 101,654. Through twelve matches in the tournament, EURO 2012 on ESPN3 and WatchESPN on computers alone have logged 1 million unique viewers that generated 116.4 million minutes.
