USA’s World Cup tie vs. Portugal sets FOX record for overnight audience

The United States’ 0-0 draw against Portugal in the Women’s World Cup was the most-watched overnight program in FOX history.

The game on Monday in Auckland, New Zealand, which kicked off at 3 a.m. EDT, averaged 1,354,000 viewers. FOX and Nielsen said the audience peaked at 1.73 million for the final 15 minutes.

The audience paled in comparison to the first two American matches, which kicked off in prime time. The July 26 match against the Netherlands was the most-watched U.S. group stage match in Women’s World Cup history, averaging 6,429,000. The opening match on July 21 against Vietnam averaged 5,261,000.

The three U.S. group stage matches averaged 4,345,000 on FOX, an 11% increase over four years ago when the tournament took place in France.

With the Americans finishing second in Group E, the team’s round of 16 match will take place overnight instead of in prime time. The match against Sweden will kick off at 5 a.m. ET Sunday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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