World Cup Viewership Numbers Reach New Heights

>> SO AFTER MILLIONS OF FANS CAME TO NORTH AMERICA TO CELEBRATE THE GAME OF SOCCER SETTING, RECORD ATTENDANCE NUMBERS IN TELEVISION RATINGS. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT IN AMERICA? WGCUS TEDDY BYRNE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THIS SUNDAY'S FINAL AND IF HOSTING ANOTHER WORLD CUP COULD BE ON AMERICA'S HORIZON. >> SO AS WE PREPARE FOR THE WORLD CUP FINALE PITTING REIGNING CHAMPS ARGENTINA AGAINST SPAIN. I'M JOINED BY SOCCER JOURNALIST AND HISTORIC KARTIK CHRISTIAN. I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. >> YES, GREAT TO BE WITH YOU. >> SO NOW, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GETTING READY. THEY'RE EXPECTED TO HAVE UPWARDS OF 2 BILLION PEOPLE VIEWING THIS FINALE COMING UP SUNDAY. HOW HAVE YOU PERCEIVE THIS WHOLE TOURNAMENT SO FAR? AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO THE ARGENTINA? SPAIN MATCH? >> WHAT'S BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS IN TERMS OF THE CROWDS IN TERMS OF PEOPLE GETTING AROUND THE COUNTRY. THERE WERE LOTS OF CONCERNS, INCLUDING EXPRESSED BY ME ABOUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS. ALL RIGHT. IN HOST CITIES, HOW EASY OR WAS A GOOD GOING TO BE FOR FANS TRAVELING FANS TO GET AROUND? WOULD THERE BE SOME OF THE POLITICAL INTRIGUE? WE HEARD THAT MIGHT IMPACT THIS TOURNAMENT, AT LEAST IN WITHIN THE UNITED STATES. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED. SO I THINK THE TOURNAMENT HAS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS FOR FIFA AND FOR THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL OR SOCCER. IF YOU PREFER I'M GOING INTO THIS. FINAL IS GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY ARGENTINA IS ON THIS, RON, WHERE THEY WON THE LAST 2 COPA AMERICA AS THEY WON THE LAST WORLD CUP IN PENALTIES OVER FRANCE IN THE FINAL THEY HAVE THE GREATEST PLAYER ARGUABLY OF ALL TIME AND MESSY. HE'S CARRYING THEM. THEY COME FROM BEHIND. I THINK IN EVERY MATCH IT FEELS LIKE IN THE KNOCKOUT STAGES ARE OR HAVE HAD TO BREAK A DEADLOCK LATE AND SPAIN HAS WON A LOT OF MAJOR TOURNAMENTS IN THE LAST 20 YEARS THEMSELVES. AND THEY PLAY FOOTBALL IN A VERY DIFFERENT MANNER THAN ARGENTINA. SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THIS. WE FASTENING FOR AMERICAN AUDIENCES WHO ARE NEW TO THE SPORT GOING TO SEE TOO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STYLES OF PLAY THAT SWITCHING GEARS TO THE UNITED STATES WHO ARE NOT FAVORITES COMING INTO THIS TOURNAMENT BUT STILL HAD A NICE SPECIAL GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE GOING. I THINK I SAW 30 MILLION VIEWERS. >> SET A MODERN SOCCER RECORD FOR THEIR MATCH AGAINST BELGIUM. IT GETS ASKED AFTER EVERY WORLD CUP. BUT DO YOU THINK THAT THERE'S ANY CORRELATION BETWEEN SOCCER MAY BE TAKING A RISE UP NOW FOLLOWING THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT FOR, YOU KNOW, FANS IN AMERICA. >> I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY MAY NOT BE THE BUMP EVERYBODY'S HOPING FOR IN THE BUSINESS AND EVERYBODY'S EXPECTING. I THINK THERE'S SO MUCH CASUAL FANDOM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. AND ACTUALLY, IF YOU ADD THE SPANISH-LANGUAGE NUMBERS, 30 MILLION IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH-LANGUAGE NUMBERS TO THAT USA-BELGIUM GAME, IT'S CLOSER TO 50 MILLION. I THINK THERE ARE 18 MILLION VIEWERS IN SPANISH. WE'RE AT 48 MILLION AND SIMILARLY THE IN WHEN MEXICO GAME HAVE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. I THINK IT WAS. 22 IN ENGLISH AND 20 FOR OUR FOREIGN SPARE SO THEY CAN BACK UP TO 46 MILLION. SO TOO HUGE AUDIENCES BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS ON UNITED STATES TELEVISION BUT THE THING THAT CONCERNS ME IS THAT THERE'S ALWAYS SORT OF A DROP-OFF AS BECAUSE OF THE LENGTH OF THESE TOURNAMENTS. AND THEN THERE'S SO MUCH ELSE GOING ON AND ON THE AMERICAN SPORTING CALENDAR. SO THE KEY IS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER. AND THE UNITED SOCCER LEAGUES, INCLUDING THAT THE TEAM, I'VE SEEN A PULSE ON DOWN THE ROAD FROM YOU IN USL TO REALLY KIND OF CAPITALIZE ON THE NEW ENERGY. THE NEW FANS GO OUT AND FIND THEM AND BE ABLE TO TALK TO LOCK THEM TO LOCAL CROPS. SO I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A SLIGHT BUMP ON BOTH. BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE ALL OF THE NEW FANS STAY FANS. THEY MAY COME BACK IN 4 YEARS, BUT THEY ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE RETAINED ARE IN THE IMMEDIATE NEAR TERM. >> AND THEN LOOKING BEYOND EVEN 4 YEARS, ALL THE WAY TO 2038 THERE WHERE WE KNOW THE NEXT 2 WORLD CUPS ARE LINED UP WHERE THEY CAN BE LOCATED. BUT THERE IS THIS VACANCY NOW. COUPLE YEARS OUT FROM HERE AND THERE ARE RUMORS THAT MAYBE THE WORLD CUP WILL ONCE AGAIN COME TO UNITED STATES FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT. WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD IN RESPONSE TO MAYBE THAT 2038 IS BACK IN NORTH AMERICA. YES, OH, MY. >> UNDERSTANDING IS IT'S A VERY LIKELY THAT ARE 2030, 80'S. EITHER BACK HERE OR MAYBE GOES UP YET. THERE'S A COMBINATION OF OF OF LAW, WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES THAT CAN DO IT. BUT IT'S A LOT MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO GOING TO COME HERE IN 2042. WE MIGHT BE LOOKING AT CHIKE. SO THE QUESTION FOR THE UNITED STATES, I THINK IT IS. WHAT WILL THE HOST CITIES BE? BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS THAT DROPPED OUT THIS TIME BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE. SO THAT'S FOR EXAMPLE. WHY YOU DON'T SEE MATCHES IN CHICAGO. YOU DON'T SEE MATCHES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THOSE ARE 2 HUGE MISSES RIGHT OFF THE BAT. THE PLANNING FOR THIS WORLD CUP WAS SO POOR IN MANY REGARDS THAT FEE FOR THEMSELVES HAD TO MOVE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO THE GROUND ON THE GROUND HERE IN THE UNITED STATES A YEAR OUT BECAUSE THEY HAD TO THEY HAD TO DO A LOT OF THINGS OPERATIONALLY THAT THEY WERE HOPING WOULD BE HANDLED LOCALLY IN ADVANCE. SO HAVING LEARNED THAT LESSON, I THINK THEY'LL PROBABLY BE BETTER PREPARATION AND A LITTLE BETTER UNDERSTANDING OFF WITH JUST SICKLY HOW YOU HAVE TO HANDLE THIS. IF YOU'RE A LOCAL OR STATE GOVERNOR OR LOCAL COUNTY OR STATE GOVERNMENT AND IN FACT, IN MAY CASES OF FALSE TO COUNTY GOVERNMENTS, MORE THAN CITY GOVERNMENTS TO HANDLE THESE THINGS IS AS WE'VE SEEN WITH BUCK MANY OF THE HOST CITIES IN THE U.S. >> WELL, IT SEEMS TO HAVE TURNED OUT WELL FOR THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT SHOULD BE EXCITING MATCH BETWEEN SPAIN AND ARGENTINA ON SUNDAY. SO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND ENJOY THE GAME. >> THANK YOU. >> HERE'S ANOTHER WORLD CUP FUN FACT FROM THE WGCU NEWSROOM. IF YOU'RE GEARING UP TO ATTEND THE NEXT WORLD CUP, GET READY TO PACK YOUR BAGS. THE 2030 TOURNAMENT, IT WILL BE CO-HOSTED BY MOROCCO, PORTUGAL IN SPAIN WITH SPECIAL OPENING MATCHES TAKING PLACE IN ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY AND URUGUAY. ALL TO COMMEMORATE 100 YEARS OF THE WORLD CUP. IT'S THE FIRST TIME MATCHES IN THE TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON 2 SEPARATE CONTINENTS.