More than 35 million viewers in the two countries tune in for the grudge match.


COLOGNE, Germany -- Germany vs. The Netherlands is arguably the biggest rivalry in international soccer, and it translated to record ratings when the two teams met Wednesday night in the first round of the Euro 2012 Championships.

In Germany, 27.2 million viewers tuned in to public broadcaster ZDF to watch their side defeat the Dutch 2-1 and all but guarantee that the German team will advance to the quarterfinals. The figure -- representing 75 percent of the viewing audience on the night -- was a record for a first-round match at the Euros. In the key 14-49 demographic, a jaw-dropping 80 percent of the audience watched the game.
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For the US;
Continued Strong Ratings for UEFA EURO
Through eight matches, ESPN’s English-language presentation of the event is averaging 978,000 households and 1.260,000 viewers -- up 172 percent and 183 percent, respectively, versus the first eight games of the UEFA EURO 2008 (360,000 households and 446,000 viewers in '08). Wednesday’s Group B games also produced strong overnight ratings, according to Nielsen. The Netherlands-Germany afternoon matchup posted a 1.2 overnight rating, while the earlier Denmark-Portugal game posted a 0.9 overnight.
The top 10 metered markets through the first 10 matches include: New York (1.9), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (1.8), Los Angeles (1.3), Providence (1.3), Jacksonville (1.3), Washington, DC (1.2), Richmond, VA (1.2), Atlanta (1.2), Greensboro-High Point, NC (1.2) and Austin, TX (1.1).
ESPN Deportes has also delivered strong ratings for UEFA EURO 2012, averaging a 3.0 Hispanic household coverage rating (+58 percent from 2008) with 157,000 Hispanic households (+131 percent from 2008) through the first eight matches.
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