ESPN believe the average soccer fan in the USA craves plenty of coverage of the world game so has decided to up the ante on their broadcasting for the World Cup.

Executive producer of ESPN's World Cup coverage, Jed Drake, says that there is a high demand for viewers who take the sport seriously in the States and confirmed the network would cater for that.

"The simple math of ratings, if you can take that audience and get them to watch for a longer period of time, it has the same effect as growing the number of viewers," said Drake. "We really have targeted our presentation now for a knowledgeable soccer audience.

"We have a production plan that we think is up to the level of ambition of this event with a great group of commentators that we've assembled, a broadcast operation that is far and away the biggest we've ever amassed outside of the U.S."