Similar to last season, the FOX over-the-air network aired an NFL/MLS doubleheader for the final MLS broadcast on FOX in 2017. Last weekend, FOX drew a combined average of 1.35 million viewers for the MLS broadcasts, up 4% from 1.298 million in 2016. MLS games on the FOX broadcast network overall, however, have experienced a 5% drop in viewership when compared to 2016.
Despite the success of FOX’s NFL/MLS doubleheader, fall ratings continue to struggle on all the league’s partner networks. New York City FC’s match against the Houston Dynamo Saturday drew only 134,000 viewers combined across UniMás and Univision Deportes. Then Sunday evening’s match between the Portland Timbers and Orlando City SC drew only 133,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes combined.
Meanwhile, the Premier League has also seen a recent dip in viewership, averaging 442,000 viewers on all networks since the start of September. This represents a 25% decrease in viewership from the 588,000 average viewers during the month of August.
In women’s soccer, Orlando Pride took on the Portland Thorns before a television audience of 82,000 viewers for Lifetime’s penultimate regular season broadcast. Lifetime will air its final broadcast of the 2017 NWSL regular season this Saturday, September 30 with the Portland Thorns hosting the Chicago Red Stars at 3:30 pm ET. The League semi-finals will begin October 7 on Lifetime.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for September 19-24, 2017:
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9/24/17 | MLS | Kansas City/Atlanta / Los Angeles/Montreal | FOX; 1350000 | —; — | 1,350,000 |
| 2 | 9/23/17 | Premier League | Leicester City / Liverpool | NBC; 750000 | Unvso; 61000 | 811,000 |
| 3 | 9/24/17 | Premier League | Brighton / Newcastle | NBCSN; 268000 | Telemundo; 186000 | 454,000 |
| 4 | 9/23/17 | Premier League | Man City / Crystal Palace | NBCSN; 326000 | Unvso; 29000 | 355,000 |
| 5 | 9/23/17 | La Liga | Girona / Barcelona | beIN; 78000 | beIE; 277000 | 355,000 |
| 6 | 9/23/17 | La Liga | Alavés / Real Madrid | beIN; 74000 | beIE; 212000 | 286,000 |
| 7 | 9/20/17 | La Liga | Real Madrid / Real Betis | beIN; 49000 | beIE; 195000 | 244,000 |
| 8 | 9/23/17 | Premier League | West Ham / Spurs | NBCSN; 223000 | Unvso; 18000 | 241,000 |
| 9 | 9/19/17 | La Liga | Barcelona / Eibar | beIN; 136000 | beIE; 45000 | 181,000 |
| 10 | 9/23/17 | MLS | New York City / Houston Dynamo | UniMás; 103000 | UDN; 31000 | 134,000 |
| 11 | 9/24/17 | MLS | Portland Timbers / Orlando City | FS1; 110000 | FOXD; 23000 | 133,000 |
| 12 | 9/19/17 | Bundesliga | Schalke / Bayern | FS1; 78000 | FOXD; 29000 | 107,000 |
| 13 | 9/23/17 | Premier League | Stoke City / Chelsea | CNBC; 103000 | —; — | 103,000 |
| 14 | 9/24/17 | Bundesliga | Hannover / Köln | FS1; 76000 | UDN; 16000 | 92,000 |
| 15 | 9/22/17 | Bundesliga | Bayern / Wolfsburg | —; — | UniMás; 82000 | 82,000 |
| 16 | 9/23/17 | NWSL | Pride / Thorns | Lifetime; 82000 | —; — | 82,000 |
| 17 | 9/20/17 | Bundesliga | Hamburg / Dortmund | FS1; 64000 | UDN; 13000 | 77,000 |
| 18 | 9/23/17 | Ligue 1 | Montpellier / PSG | beIN; 58000 | —; — | 58,000 |
| 19 | 9/21/17 | CONCACAF League | Olimpia / Plaza Amador | —; — | UDN; 50000 | 50,000 |
| 20 | 9/21/17 | CONCACAF League | Guápiles / Árabe Unido | —; — | UDN; 36000 | 36,000 |
| 21 | 9/20/17 | Bundesliga | Hertha / Leverkusen | FS2; 28000 | FOXD; 6000 | 34,000 |
| 22 | 9/19/17 | Bundesliga | Mönchengladbach / Stuttgart | FS2; 26000 | UDN; 6000 | 32,000 |
| 23 | 9/20/17 | Bundesliga | Köln / Frankfurt | FS2; 16000 | FOXD; 2000 | 18,000 |
| 24 | 9/23/17 | Bundesliga | Leipzig / Frankfurt | —; — | UDN; 13000 | 13,000 |
| 25 | 9/24/17 | Serie A | Fiorentina / Atalanta | beIN; 13000 | —; — | 13,000 |
| 26 | 9/19/17 | Bundesliga | Augsburg / Leipzig | —; — | UDN; 4000 | 4,000 |
Average MLS viewing audiences on US TV:
| League | Overall | ESPN | ESPN2 | FOX | FS1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 MLS | 263,465 (57) | 287,381 (21) | 220,000 (5) | 622,600 (5) | 181,200 (25) |
| 2016 MLS | 257,683 (63) | 290,179 (28) | 201,500 (4) | 658,000 (5) | 154,346 (26) |
| 2017 NWSL | 94,143 (21) |
League averages this season:
| League | Viewers |
|---|---|
| EPL | 517,061 |
| LMX | 464,429 |
| MLS | 263,465 |
| NWSL | 94,143 |
SEE MORE: Access our archives of US TV ratings for soccer.
HT ShowBuzz Daily and @thegoalkeeper
