Following decreased viewership for the Knockout Round of the MLS Playoffs, FOX Sports 1 saw a 25% decrease in viewership for the Conference Semifinals compared to last season. None of FOX Sports 1’s matches managed to break the 200,000-viewer mark with the series between Supporter’s Shield winners FC Dallas and sixth seed Seattle Sounders averaging only 147,000 viewers over both legs. In 2015, FOX Sports 1’s four Conference Semifinal matchups averaged 229,000 viewers, which also included both legs of a Dallas-Seattle series. That one, however, averaged 220,500 viewers.
On ESPN, the Conference Semifinals saw only a 1,000 viewer drop to 241,250 from 242,250 last season. Last Sunday’s match between the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids on ESPN is the only match to draw an audience larger than 300,000 thus far.
Liga MX on Univision remains strong with Saturday’s match between Chivas and León getting over the 1 million viewer line, making it the most-viewed match of the week by nearly 200,000 people.
On the networks of beIN SPORTS, Sunday’s matchup between Sevilla and Barcelona averaged 552,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed La Liga match of the season so far. Four of La Liga’s top five most viewed matches of the season belong to Barcelona. Nine of the top ten have kicked off between 2-3pm ET.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for October 26-31, 2016:
| Rank | Home | Away | Competition | Date | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | Chivas | Liga MX | 11/5/16 | Univision; 610000 | UDN; 393000 | 1,003,000 |
| 2 | Cruz Azul | Pachuca | Liga MX | 11/5/16 | Univision; 546000 | UDN; 260000 | 806,000 |
| 3 | Chelsea | Everton | EPL | 11/5/16 | NBC; 693000 | Unvso; 45000 | 738,000 |
| 4 | Sevilla | Barcelona | La Liga | 11/6/16 | beIN; 144000 | beIE; 408000 | 552,000 |
| 5 | Manchester City | Barcelona | UCL | 11/1/16 | FS1; 275000 | FOXD; 268000 | 543,000 |
| 6 | Pumas | Monarcas Morelia | Liga MX | 11/6/16 | Univision; 377000 | UDN; 141000 | 518,000 |
| 7 | Watford | Liverpool | EPL | 11/6/16 | NBCSN; 432000 | Unvso; 41000 | 473,000 |
| 8 | Arsenal | Spurs | EPL | 11/6/16 | NBCSN; 407000 | Unvso; 39000 | 446,000 |
| 9 | Manchester City | Middlesbrough | EPL | 11/5/16 | NBCSN; 400000 | Unvso; 33000 | 433,000 |
| 10 | Necaxa | Puebla | Liga MX | 11/5/16 | —; — | UDN; 335000 | 335,000 |
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | Los Angeles Galaxy | MLS | 11/6/16 | ESPN; 302000 | —; — | 302,000 |
| 12 | West Brom | Leicester City | EPL | 11/6/16 | NBCSN; 293000 | —; — | 293,000 |
| 13 | New York City FC | Toronto FC | MLS | 11/6/16 | FS1; 195000 | FOXD; 85000 | 280,000 |
| 14 | New York Red Bulls | Montreal Impact | MLS | 11/6/16 | ESPN; 245000 | —; — | 245,000 |
| 15 | Santos Laguna | Chiapas | Liga MX | 11/6/16 | —; — | UDN; 210000 | 210,000 |
| 16 | FC Dallas | Seattle Sounders | MLS | 11/6/16 | FS1; 135000 | FOXD; 61000 | 196,000 |
| 17 | Real Sociedad | Atlético Madrid | La Liga | 11/5/16 | beIN; 38000 | beIE; 140000 | 178,000 |
| 18 | Manchester United | Swansea City | EPL | 11/6/16 | CNBC; 165000 | —; — | 165,000 |
| 19 | Fenerbahce | Manchester United | UEL | 11/3/16 | FS1; 161000 | —; — | 161,000 |
| 20 | Spurs | Bayer Leverkusen | UCL | 11/2/16 | FS1; 135000 | —; — | 135,000 |
| 21 | Southampton | Inter Milan | UEL | 11/3/16 | FS1; 124000 | —; — | 124,000 |
| 22 | Juventus | Lyon | UCL | 11/2/16 | ESPN2; 116000 | —; — | 116,000 |
| 23 | Real Madrid | Leganes | La Liga | 11/6/16 | beIN; 26000 | beIE; 87000 | 113,000 |
| 24 | Querétaro | Toluca | Liga MX | 11/5/16 | —; — | Gala; 103000 | 103,000 |
| 25 | Valencia | Real Betis | La Liga | 11/6/16 | —; — | beIE; 90000 | 90,000 |
| 26 | Espanyol | Athletic | La Liga | 11/6/16 | —; — | beIE; 89000 | 89,000 |
| 27 | Atletico Madrid | FC Rostov | UCL | 11/1/16 | ESPN2; 85000 | —; — | 85,000 |
| 28 | Leverkusen | Darmstadt | Bundesliga | 11/5/16 | —; — | FOXD; 76000 | 76,000 |
| 29 | Ludogorets | Arsenal | UCL | 11/1/16 | FS2; 65000 | —; — | 65,000 |
| 30 | RB Leipzig | Mainz | Bundesliga | 11/6/16 | FS1; 50000 | FOXD; 9000 | 59,000 |
| 31 | Osasuna | Deporivo Alavés | La Liga | 11/5/16 | —; — | beIE; 58000 | 58,000 |
| 32 | Bayern Munich | Hoffenheim | Bundesliga | 11/5/16 | FS2; 46000 | —; — | 46,000 |
| 33 | Napoli | Lazio | Serie A | 11/5/16 | —; —- | beIE; 43000 | 43,000 |
| 34 | FC Porto | Club Brugge | UCL | 11/2/16 | —; — | FOXD; 43000 | 43,000 |
| 35 | Granada | Deportivo | La Liga | 11/5/16 | —; — | beIE; 24000 | 24,000 |
| 36 | Borussia Dortmund | Sporting Clube | UCL | 11/2/16 | FS2; 21000 | —; — | 21,000 |
| 37 | Málaga | Sporting Gijón | La Liga | 11/4/16 | —; — | beIE; 15000 | 15,000 |
| 38 | Frankfurt | Köln | Bundesliga | 11/5/16 | FS2; 13000 | —; — | 13,000 |
| 39 | Schalke 04 | Werder Bremen | Bundesliga | 11/6/16 | FS2; 13000 | —; — | 13,000 |
| 40 | Schalke 04 | Krasnodar | UEL | 11/3/16 | FS2; 13000 | —; — | 13,000 |
| 41 | Hertha Berlin | Mönchengladbach | Bundesliga | 11/4/16 | FS2; 10000 | —; — | 10,000 |
| 42 | Austria Wien | Roma | UEL | 11/3/16 | FS2; 10000 | —; — | 10,000 |
2016 MLS TV averages:
| League | Overall | ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPND | FOX | FS1 | FOXD | UniMás/UDN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLS | 276,689 | 290,179 | 201,500 | 46,000 | 658,000 | 154,346 | 34,677 | 218,038 |
| MLS Playoffs | 255,250 | 241,250 | 124,000 | 44,500 | — | 178,400 | — | 211,750 |
Most-watched leagues on US TV
| League | Average |
|---|---|
| Liga MX | 676,321 |
| Premier League | 431,726 |
| UEFA CL | 399,250 |
| MLS | 276,689 |
| La Liga | 140,383 |
| NWSL | 88,500 |
| Bundesliga | 68,911 |
| Primeira Liga | 37,833 |
| Serie A | 29,042 |
| Eredivisie | 28,200 |
| Championship | 17,600 |
| Ligue 1 | 12,714 |
| NASL | 7,500 |
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