EXCLUSIVE: The viewing numbers are in for one of the most exciting el Clásico games in recent history between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The match was televised live to viewers in the United States via beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español. The combined viewing number for both networks was 1,594,000

beIN SPORTS benefitted from the Sunday mid-afternoon timeslot. The game was televised live from 2:45-4:45pm ET (11:45am to 1:45pm PT), which is far better than the December 2016 start time of 10:15am ET.

For the English-language broadcast, the viewing audience was 488,000. That number was eclipsed by the Spanish-language audience that averaged 1,106,000 viewers.

How does beIN SPORTS’ viewing numbers compare to previous el Clásico games that the network has televised?

• December 3, 2016: 1.433 million
• April 2, 2016: 1.915 million viewers
• November 21, 2015: 1.874 million viewers
• March 22, 2015: 2.120 million viewers

Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson commentated the game for beIN SPORTS. In the studio, Kay Murray hosted the broadcast alongside Kevin Egan. They were joined by Christian Vieri, former MLS Coach of the Year Thomas Rongen as well as former Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey.

On the Spanish-language beIN SPORTS en Español network, Jose Hernandez and Pablo Mariño were the announcers. The commentators also contributed to the pre-game, half-time and post-match coverage alongside host Ana Cobos and analyst Miguel Serrano.

SEE MORE: More impressive metrics from beIN SPORTS’ coverage of El Clásico