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Third place matches are generally not considered to be exciting. The third place match between the United States and Colombia at the Copa America Centenario drew a solid, unspectacular television rating.
According to SportsTVRatings.com, the match drew 1.670,000 viewers on FX, including 938,000 in the coveted 18-49 demo. It is the highest rated sports broadcast for Saturday, June 25th.
Colombia's 1-0 win over the United States drew a further 2.8 million viewers on Univision:
ICYMI: per Univision USA-Colombia 3rd-place match averaged 2.8M viewers on its networks. Will see FX # by tomorrow.
— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) June 27, 2016
By comparison, 3.29 million viewers tuned in to watch the semifinal match against Argentina on FOX Sports 1.
Thus ends a successful tournament for the United States both on the field and in the boardroom of television executives. FOX did an excellent job marketing the tournament and CONMEBOL's calculated risk in scheduling this irregular event paid off handsomely.
USMNT matches set several records for FOX Sports 1 which only means good things for the future. There are still some people who remain unconvinced of soccer's ability to "make it in America", so high ratings for the national team are always appreciated.
And yes, they matter. Television money makes the sports world go 'round.