WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : SPOTLIGHT : THE RATINGS GAME

ESPN averaged a 1.6 cable rating and 1.01 million households for 32 first-round World Cup telecasts, a 77% increase from the 571,000 average for 25 games on TNT during the 1990 tournament.

ABC’s four first-round games averaged a 4.8 rating, which amounts to 4.52 million homes.

ESPN’s best rating was 4.3 for the United States’ 1-0 upset of Colombia, followed by a 2.9 for Ireland’s 1-0 upset of Italy. The low was an 0.4 for the tape-delayed telecast of Russia’s 6-1 rout of Cameroon in which Oleg Salenko became the first player to score five goals in a World Cup game.