The World Cup is heating up and how. Soccer may be getting more eyeballs as the race to the World Cup gets hotter, but cricket continues to rule the average Indian heart. That is the message the ratings give.

Viewership for the World Cup in the week ended 8 June shot up considerably in the metros, according to TAM. Reports say the Argentina versus England match recorded a rating of 3.3 as compared to the previous week's high of 1.45 TVR. Football however, is yet to get into the Top 100 - something that the India-West Indies one dayer did without so much as raising a sweat with a TVR of 6.31 on 2 June. The match helped ESPN climb into the top 100 shows in C&S homes at number 13, according to TAM.

In some places though soccer has done well for itself on the fledgling Ten Sports. For the first match between France and Senegal, Kolkata garnered TVRs of over 20 in the SEC A,B,C males 15-44 category. The second day's matches have also done relatively well, but only in select metros like Kolkata and Cochin (where it got ratings of 32.5 and 20.4 in SEC A and B 15 + males). Mumbai and Delhi have caught up only in the second week, and the nine metro average hovered below a TVR of 5 in the first week, if TAM figures are to be believed.

Cricket on the other hand shows a steady following despite rain and losses. ESPN claims an advantage on this score, pointing out that on 1 June, cricket ratings peaked at TVR of 3.5 even after it rained during the fourth ODI, while soccer managed a peak TVR of just below 2 throughout the world cup matches during the day. Viewers, of course, had the advantage of checking out soccer during the first half of the day before switching loyalties to cricket in the second half.

ESPN also points to the nine city average on the opening day of the World Cup when the match drew a peak TVR of just above two, while the third ODI between India and the Windies on 29 May drew a peak TVR over nine.

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