World Cup Stats

Now that the US is out of the World Cup, the US viewing results are in. While I didn't find these numbers shocking, I was kind of surprised by the last two points. Keep in mind, 32 billion people the world over are expected to have watched the 64 World Cup matches on TV by the time the final is played on Sunday 9 July.
According to Rasmussen Reports:

Despite a high level of media coverage for the World Cup soccer tournament, three-fourths of Americans (78%) are not following the action very closely if at all. Out of 1,000 adults surveyed just 6% are following the tournament very closely. Nine percent (9%) of men are paying close attention along with 3% of women. The Super Bowl remains the biggest sport championship in terms of fan appeal. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Americans say it's their favorite championship to watch. The World Series is the only other championship to reach double digits—12% of adults say it's their favorite. Despite the general lack of interest in the World Cup by the US audience, the soccer tournament is more popular than the NBA basketball championship and the NHL's Stanley Cup hockey title. Both of those events were being held at the same time as the World Cup. The survey was conducted before the U.S. soccer team was eliminated.