MLS Soccer Sunday again saw huge viewership increases on ESPN2 and FS1 when compared to last season. Minnesota United’s snowy home opener against fellow expansion side Atlanta United was watched by 278,000 viewers on ESPN2, up 41% from 197,000 for New York City FC’s home opener in 2016, also on ESPN2. On FS1, 223,000 watched the Portland Timbers 1-0 road defeat of the Los Angeles Galaxy, an increase of 27% from 175,000 viewers for the corresponding match in 2016.

In a weekend without Liga MX, Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated American soccer viewership with both teams drawing more than half a million viewers each for their matches. Due to the referee strike in Mexico, Univision elected to air an extra MLS match Saturday evening, a 0-0 draw between Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas. At only 97,000 viewers, it was the least watched MLS match since May 27, 2016 when Sporting Kansas City hosted DC United. Both matches were available exclusively on Univision Deportes Network.

FOX Sports 1 aired the league meeting between Celtic and Rangers of the Scottish Premiership. An audience of 73,000 watched Rangers take a point away from Celtic Park. Old Firm ratings have greatly increased over the course of the 2016-17 season with the first match between the two rivals attracting only 23,000 viewers opposite a Manchester Derby that drew 826,000 on NBCSN and Telemundo.

The viewing number for the Chelsea-Manchester United FA Cup quarterfinal hasn’t been released as of press time.

Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for March 7-12, 2017:

Rank Date Competition Teams TV1 TV2 Total
1 3/12/17 La Liga Real Madrid / Real Betis beIN; 110000 beIE; 414000 524,000
2 3/12/17 La Liga Coruña / Barcelona beIN; 112000 beIE; 410000 522,000
3 3/12/17 Premier League Liverpool / Burnley NBCSN; 434000 ; — 434,000
4 3/8/17 Copa MX Tijuana / América —; — UDN; 432000 432,000
5 3/8/17 UEFA CL Round of 16 Barcelona / PSG FS1; 384000 ; — 384,000
6 3/7/17 UEFA CL Round of 16 Napoli / Real Madrid FS2; 104000 FOXD; 228000 332,000
7 3/7/17 Copa MX Chivas / Correcaminos —; — UDN; 326000 326,000
8 3/12/17 FA Cup Spurs / Millwall FS1; 266000 FOXD; 31000 297,000
9 3/11/17 Premier League Everton / West Brom NBCSN; 272000 Unvso; 21000 293,000
10 3/7/17 SheBelieves Cup USA / France FS1; 279000 —; — 279,000
11 3/12/17 MLS Minnesota United / Atlanta United ESPN2; 278000 ESPND; — 278,000
12 3/12/17 MLS Los Angeles Galaxy / Portland Timers FS1; 223000 FOXD; 49000 272,000
13 3/8/17 Copa MX León / Cruz Azul —; — UDN; 234000 234,000
14 3/7/17 UEFA CL Round of 16 Arsenal / Bayern FS1; 220000 ESPND; — 220,000
15 3/11/17 MLS New York Red Bulls / Colorado Rapids UniMás; 152000 UDN; 56000 208,000
16 3/12/17 La Liga Celta / Villarreal —; — beIE; 199000 199,000
17 3/11/17 FA Cup Middlesbrough / Man City FS1; 154000 FOXD; 30000 184,000
18 3/11/17 FA Cup Arsenal / Lincoln City FS2; 102000 FOXD; 65000 167,000
19 3/11/17 La Liga Granada / Atlético Madrid —; — beIE; 164000 164,000
20 3/11/17 Bundesliga Bayern / Frankfurt FS1; 124000 GolTV; — 124,000
21 3/7/17 Copa MX Chiapas / Puebla —; — UDN; 103000 103,000
22 3/11/17 MLS Sporting Kansas City / FC Dallas —; — UDN; 97000 97,000
23 3/11/17 La Liga Málaga / Alavés —; — beIE; 84000 84,000
24 3/11/17 La Liga Sevilla / Leganés —; — beIE; 83000 83,000
25 3/11/17 Bundesliga Hertha Berlin / Dortmund FS2; 26000 FOXD; 49000 75,000
26 3/9/17 UEFA EL Round of 16 Rostov / Man Utd FS2; 73000 ESPND; — 73,000
27 3/12/17 Scottish Premiership Celtic / Rangers FS1; 73000 —; — 73,000
28 3/8/17 UEFA CL Round of 16 Dortmund / Benfica FS2; 35000 FOXD; 37000 72,000
29 3/8/17 Premier League Man City / Stoke NBCSN; 67000 Unvso; — 67,000
30 3/9/17 UEFA EL Round of 16 Schalke / Mönchengladbach FS2; 56000 —; — 56,000
31 3/10/17 Bundesliga Leverkusen / Bremen FS2; 25000 FOXD; 31000 56,000
32 3/10/17 La Liga Espanyol / Las Palmas —; — beIE; 45000 45,000
33 3/12/17 Bundesliga Hamburg / Mönchengladbach FS2; 24000 FOXD; 15000 39,000
34 3/10/17 Serie A Juventus / Milan beIN; 27000 ; — 27,000
35 3/11/17 Premier League Hull City / Swansea City CNBC; 25000 —; — 25,000
36 3/11/17 Serie A Genoa / Sampdoria beIN; 19000 —; — 19,000
37 3/12/17 Bundesliga Schalke / Augsburg FS2; 19000 GolTV; — 19,000
38 3/10/17 Primeira Liga Arouca / Porto —; — UDN; 7000 7,000

Average viewing audiences for soccer leagues on US TV:

League Average
Liga MX 807,702
Premier League 462,710
UEFA CL 359,200
MLS 307,875
La Liga 152,971
NWSL 88,500
Bundesliga 75,000
Primeira Liga 35,967
Serie A 25,627
Ligue 1 16,636
Championship 15,868

SEE MORE: Access our archives of US TV ratings for soccer.

HT SportsTVRatings