By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporter . An estimated 26.5 million U.S. viewers watched Germany defeat Argentina to win the World Cup on Sunday - making it the most-viewed soccer game in American history. The tournament, which far exceeded expectations for interest across TV networks, had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision, the Nielson company said. In addition, just over 750,000 people . were watching the game during a typical minute online through services . provided by each network. The month-long tournament was also . responsible for more than three billion interactions on Facebook and 672 . million messages on Twitter, the social media companies said on Monday. Record: Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany holds the World Cup trophy after the team's win on Sunday night. More than 16 million viewers watched the game in the U.S. - setting a soccer viewership record . The 2010 finale between Spain and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. team's 2-2 draw against Portugal earlier in this year's tournament, both had 24.7 million viewers. Given the growing interest in the tournament as it went along, the size of the audience for the final game wasn't that big a surprise, said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president of programming. The tournament as a whole exceeded expectations for ESPN, and surprised Guglielmino in the way it permeated U.S. culture as no World Cup has before. 1. Germany vs. Argentina 2014 World Cup final, Sunday, July 13: 27.280 million viewers on ABC, Univision and online . 2. United States vs. Portugal 2014 World Cup group stage, Sunday, June 22: 26.035 million viewers on ESPN, Univision and online . 3. Netherlands vs. Spain 2010 World Cup final, Saturday, July 10, 2010: 24.7 million viewers on ABC and Univision . 4. United States vs. Belgium 2014 World Cup round of 16, Tuesday July 1: 23.771 million viewers on ESPN, Univision and online . 5. United States vs. Ghana 2010 World Cup round of 16, Saturday, June 26, 2010: 19.4 million viewers on ABC and Univision . The average viewership for all 64 . World Cup matches was up 39 per cent over 2010 on ESPN and its sister . station ABC, and 34 per cent on Univision, Nielsen said. 'We all knew that everything was in . place to be well-delivered to the audience and we needed a good . performance by the teams, and that happened,' said Juan Carlos . Rodriguez, Univision sports president. At . least until some cautious games in the knockout round, play was more . wide-open with increased scoring and that was appealing to viewers, the . executives said.The event also had stories that transcended the games . itself, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez suspended for biting another player . and host Brazil's historic meltdown against Germany. On ESPN, tournament games averaged 4.56 million television viewers, compared to the 1.04 million viewers for games in the 2002 World Cup that were in Korea and Japan. World Cup organizers FIFA said that more than a billion fans worldwide accessed information about the tournament through its digital platforms. 'This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup,' said FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Getting online: A group of women take a selfie with their phone following Germany's win. More than three billion messages were sent about the World Cup on Facebook over the tournament . Records: During the final, 88 million global users commented on Facebook - and the U.S. was the loudest . Most Social World Cup Matches . 1. Germany vs. Argentina final - 88 million people with 280 million Facebook interactions . 2. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal - 66 million people with 200 million Facebook interactions . 3. Brazil vs. Croatia opening match - 58 million people with 140 million Facebook interactions . 4. Argentina vs. Netherlands semifinal - 39 million people with 83 million Facebook interactions . 5. Brazil vs. Chile round of 16 match - 31 million people with 75 million Facebook interactions . Most Social World Cup Moments . 1. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (29’):  Sami Khedira scores Germany’s fourth goal in seven minutes . 2. Germany vs. Argentina final (full time): Final whistle . 3. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (26’):  Toni Kroos scores his second goal of the match . 4. Germany vs. Argentina final (113’):  Mario Götze gives Germany a 1-0 lead over Argentina . 5. Brazil vs. Croatia opening match (29’):  Neymar scores his first World Cup goal . Facebook said 88 million people made a . total of 280 million posts or 'likes' about the final game. The most . social 'moment' of the tournament on Facebook, however, was right after . Germany scored four goals in seven minutes during its semifinal victory . against Brazil. On Twitter, the Brazil-Germany match exceeded the final game for most tweets. Both . ESPN and Univision invested heavily to make the tournament an immersive . experience, signing up former players for hours of discussion between . match times. Univision went . high-tech, with virtual reality displays that pitted famed players from . different eras against one another. The company also worked with an . Israeli company to invest in technology that allowed its feed of games . to appear on the network some five or six seconds before its . English-speaking rival. 'We're the real home of soccer in America, regardless of language,' Rodriguez said. He predicted that ratings for the Copa America Centenario tournament in 2016, which will match the best teams in North and South America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his network. The ratings performance was a little bittersweet for ESPN and Univision, however. Both networks were outbid for the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup in Russia. So there was a little gamesmanship involved. Guglielmino said the intention was to create a 'high bar' for Fox when it broadcasts the 2018 tournament. Given that the games in Russia will take place at inconvenient times in the U.S. market, Fox may be hard-pressed to beat these ratings. 'At the end of the day, a lot of us are just as competitive as some of the people we cover,' Guglielmino said.
Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina was watched by 17.3 million viewers on ABC, 9.2 million on Univision and 750,000 people online .
Average U.S. viewership for all this year's World Cup games was up by 39 per cent on 2010 games .
The final match also generated 32.1 million tweets, while the whole tournament was responsible for 3 BILLION interactions on Facebook .
By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporter . An estimated 26.5 million U.S. viewers watched Germany defeat Argentina to win the World Cup on Sunday - making it the most-viewed soccer game in American history. The tournament, which far exceeded expectations for interest across TV networks, had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision, the Nielson company said. In addition, just over 750,000 people . were watching the game during a typical minute online through services . provided by each network. The month-long tournament was also . responsible for more than three billion interactions on Facebook and 672 . million messages on Twitter, the social media companies said on Monday. Record: Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany holds the World Cup trophy after the team's win on Sunday night. More than 16 million viewers watched the game in the U.S. - setting a soccer viewership record . The 2010 finale between Spain and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. team's 2-2 draw against Portugal earlier in this year's tournament, both had 24.7 million viewers. Given the growing interest in the tournament as it went along, the size of the audience for the final game wasn't that big a surprise, said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president of programming. The tournament as a whole exceeded expectations for ESPN, and surprised Guglielmino in the way it permeated U.S. culture as no World Cup has before. 1. Germany vs. Argentina 2014 World Cup final, Sunday, July 13: 27.280 million viewers on ABC, Univision and online . 2. United States vs. Portugal 2014 World Cup group stage, Sunday, June 22: 26.035 million viewers on ESPN, Univision and online . 3. Netherlands vs. Spain 2010 World Cup final, Saturday, July 10, 2010: 24.7 million viewers on ABC and Univision . 4. United States vs. Belgium 2014 World Cup round of 16, Tuesday July 1: 23.771 million viewers on ESPN, Univision and online . 5. United States vs. Ghana 2010 World Cup round of 16, Saturday, June 26, 2010: 19.4 million viewers on ABC and Univision . The average viewership for all 64 . World Cup matches was up 39 per cent over 2010 on ESPN and its sister . station ABC, and 34 per cent on Univision, Nielsen said. 'We all knew that everything was in . place to be well-delivered to the audience and we needed a good . performance by the teams, and that happened,' said Juan Carlos . Rodriguez, Univision sports president. At . least until some cautious games in the knockout round, play was more . wide-open with increased scoring and that was appealing to viewers, the . executives said.The event also had stories that transcended the games . itself, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez suspended for biting another player . and host Brazil's historic meltdown against Germany. On ESPN, tournament games averaged 4.56 million television viewers, compared to the 1.04 million viewers for games in the 2002 World Cup that were in Korea and Japan. World Cup organizers FIFA said that more than a billion fans worldwide accessed information about the tournament through its digital platforms. 'This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup,' said FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Getting online: A group of women take a selfie with their phone following Germany's win. More than three billion messages were sent about the World Cup on Facebook over the tournament . Records: During the final, 88 million global users commented on Facebook - and the U.S. was the loudest . Most Social World Cup Matches . 1. Germany vs. Argentina final - 88 million people with 280 million Facebook interactions . 2. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal - 66 million people with 200 million Facebook interactions . 3. Brazil vs. Croatia opening match - 58 million people with 140 million Facebook interactions . 4. Argentina vs. Netherlands semifinal - 39 million people with 83 million Facebook interactions . 5. Brazil vs. Chile round of 16 match - 31 million people with 75 million Facebook interactions . Most Social World Cup Moments . 1. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (29’): Sami Khedira scores Germany’s fourth goal in seven minutes . 2. Germany vs. Argentina final (full time): Final whistle . 3. Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (26’):  Toni Kroos scores his second goal of the match . 4. Germany vs. Argentina final (113’):  Mario Götze gives Germany a 1-0 lead over Argentina . 5. Brazil vs. Croatia opening match (29’):  Neymar scores his first World Cup goal . Facebook said 88 million people made a . total of 280 million posts or 'likes' about the final game. The most . social 'moment' of the tournament on Facebook, however, was right after . Germany scored four goals in seven minutes during its semifinal victory . against Brazil. On Twitter, the Brazil-Germany match exceeded the final game for most tweets. Both . ESPN and Univision invested heavily to make the tournament an immersive . experience, signing up former players for hours of discussion between . match times. Univision went . high-tech, with virtual reality displays that pitted famed players from . different eras against one another. The company also worked with an . Israeli company to invest in technology that allowed its feed of games . to appear on the network some five or six seconds before its . English-speaking rival. 'We're the real home of soccer in America, regardless of language,' Rodriguez said. He predicted that ratings for the Copa America Centenario tournament in 2016, which will match the best teams in North and South America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his network. The ratings performance was a little bittersweet for ESPN and Univision, however. Both networks were outbid for the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup in Russia. So there was a little gamesmanship involved. Guglielmino said the intention was to create a 'high bar' for Fox when it broadcasts the 2018 tournament. Given that the games in Russia will take place at inconvenient times in the U.S. market, Fox may be hard-pressed to beat these ratings. 'At the end of the day, a lot of us are just as competitive as some of the people we cover,' Guglielmino said.
networks, had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision, the by each network. The month-long tournament was also . responsible for more than three billion interactions on Facebook and 672 . million average viewership for all 64 . World Cup matches was up 39 per cent over 2010 on ESPN and its Germany vs. Argentina final - 88 million people America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his