US wins Women's World Cup: Rising gender equality in TV, marketability
Will the Americans' victory over Japan Sunday result in higher television ratings and more marketing of women's soccer going forward?
United States' Carli Lloyd, left, falls to her knees on the pitch as Japan's Rumi Utsugi, right, walks off after the U.S. beat Japan 5-2 in the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015.
Elaine Thompson/AP
The United States women鈥檚 soccer team became World Cup champions for the third time Sunday evening, defeating Japan in a thrilling match that ended in a 5-2 score. In the game's first 16 minutes, the Americans scored four goals, with tournament most valuable player Carli Lloyd netting three of them.
Many final soccer matches, much like Super Bowls, tend to be something of a letdown but not this game. With a total of seven goals scored, Lloyd's three goals (otherwise known as a "hat-trick") 鈥撀� that has everyone talking about the , the game was nothing short of riveting.
Sunday night鈥檚 win for the United States places them in the lead as the nation with the . While the F茅d茅ration Internationale de Football Association , the 2015 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup, hosted by Canada, went off without a hitch.
This year, the average American television audience for each of the US women鈥檚 games was viewers. The semi-final match featuring the USA and Germany had an audience of viewers. Compared to the 2011 games in Germany, viewership of these games rose among males between ages 25-51, but jumped over 90 percent among women in that same age group.聽
The American television audience for the US women鈥檚 games this year was than the viewership for the 2011 Women鈥檚 World Cup games, according to Fox. This compares to the total audience reach of the 2014 Germany vs. Argentina men鈥檚 World Cup final game which had an estimated 1 billion people.聽While data has yet to be released for the viewership counts of Sunday's final game, worldwide audiences for the World Cup hosted by Canada this year set records, with the semifinal matches drawing over viewers at times.聽
While becoming the best in the world is prize in itself, winners of the FIFA World Cup do not walk away empty-handed. The USA women鈥檚 team earned a聽聽for their victory, double the amount that the Japanese women鈥檚 team earned in 2011. This is no small amount, unless compared to the聽听迟丑补迟听聽took away for their victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil.
The reason for the difference in prize money may be partially attributed to the number of revenue-generating opportunities available during the men's World Cup compared to the Women鈥檚 World Cup. competed in the men's tournament last year. This year, participated in the Women鈥檚 World Cup, up from that competed in the 2011 tournament.
Most of the revenue for the game comes via advertising sponsorship from broadcasting networks. This year, the official US network broadcaster of the games, Fox, was scheduled to generate upwards of from World Cup sponsored content, almost three times the amount that ESPN, the broadcaster of the 2011 women's World Cup, made. However, this number pales in comparison to the $529 million generated by the 2014 men鈥檚 World Cup.
This year鈥檚 games mark the seventh Women鈥檚 World Cup, which FIFA began in 1991. The men鈥檚 World Cup began in 1930.