A Rasmussen Reports poll has bad news for soccer fans: Americans do not think soccer will be as popular in the U.S. as it is worldwide within the next five years. But English- and Spanish-language television viewership is up anyway.

The poll, conducted nationally via telephone, showed only 19 percent of Americans believe soccer will be as popular in the U.S. as it is internationally within the next five years. Fifty-nine percent said it will not be as popular. And 21 percent were unsure.

Another survey found only 39 percent of Americans plan to watch the World Cup. Both surveys had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Viewership for the World Cup has increased across ESPN and Univision, notably when Team USA plays.

On ESPN, 11.1 million viewers watch the U.S. defeat Ghana (2-1) on June 16. On Univision, the game attracted 4.8 million viewers.

The U.S. vs. Portugal match, played in the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus, was the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history, averaging 18.2 million viewers. The previous high was 17.9 million for the 1999 Women's World Cup final, USA vs. China on ABC.

World Cup viewership gains include non-U.S. games. The Germany vs. Ghana match on June 21 garnered 5.7 million viewers on ESPN. ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2 said they've seen "significant" audience increases across key people and male demographics from the 2010 World Cup.

On Univision, the U.S. vs. Portugal game averaged 6.5 million viewers. It was the most-watched U.S. match on the Spanish-language network. As of June 23, Univision had reached 54 million total viewers. Univision said its World Cup audience has increased by 45 percent over the first 11 matches of the 2010 World Cup.

Internationally, 3.06 million viewers, or 34.4 of the share on BBC One, watched the U.S. vs. Portugal game.

As Latin Post has reported, the World Cup is considered "premium property" for broadcasters, notably if they're "free-to-air" channels, such as ABC and Univision, due to high viewing figures.

According to Pew Research, major U.S. cities have encountered a growing interest in soccer, at least partly because of increases in the Hispanic population. According to ESPN's data, New York and Los Angeles -- markets also highlighted by Pew -- saw high viewership averages.

For more Latin Post World Cup coverage, click here.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.