World Cup 2014: 61 Percent Of Americans Have Little To No Interest, Study Finds

The 2014 FIFA World Cup has enjoyed strong television ratings in the United States, but the majority of Americans still aren’t interested, according to a study.

A poll of 1,452 adults conducted by NBC News in partnership with the Wall Street Journal and the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 61 percent of Americans have little to no interest in the World Cup. Conversely, 22 percent of respondents said that they have a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of interest in the international soccer tournament.

Among participants who are interested in the World Cup, 86 percent noted that they were supporting the U.S. at the World Cup, while six percent said that they didn’t care who won.

Despite the findings from NBC News’ study, World Cup telecasts have produced a record number of viewers this summer, according to stats released by ESPN. In all, ESPN’s broadcasts of the World Cup’s 48 group play matches drew an average of 3,540,000 viewers, an increase of 46 percent from the 2010 World Cup and 109 percent from the 2006 World Cup.

A June 26 match between the U.S. and Germany drew a 6.7 rating and more than 10 million viewers, making it the second highest-rated World Cup broadcast in the network’s history. At the same time, WatchESPN, the network’s online streaming service, logged a record 3.2 million live unique viewers for the match.