During MLS Rivalry Week, Major League Soccer saw seven matches nationally televised across ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1, with those matches averaging 209,571 viewers. English-language viewership peaked for the second match of ESPN’s Friday night doubleheader between Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders, which averaged 304,000 viewers.

Viewership for the weekend reached its lowest point the following day on ESPN2 for the Hudson River Derby that only managed to average 110,000 viewers. Finally, on Sunday, FS1 aired a rare MLS tripleheader that averaged 167,333 viewers. The most-viewed match of the night, el Tráfico, was outdrawn on FS1’s sister network, FOX Deportes, with the two combining for 462,000 total viewers.

TUDN’s coverage of the 2019 Leagues Cup semifinals saw a 98% increase in viewership from the quarterfinal round, with the competition’s only all-Liga MX matchup so far bringing in the highest viewership numbers as 545,000 saw Tigres defeat Club América on penalties on TUDN.

For the first Serie A match shown on US television this season, ESPN saw a 16% decline in viewership compared to the opening broadcast of last season. ESPN’s first-ever Serie A broadcast in 2018 featured Juventus taking on Lazio on ESPN2 and drew 210,000 viewers. This year, the opening broadcast featured Roma and Genoa on the flagship network and averaged 177,000 viewers.

Rank Date Competition Teams Network Total
1 8/24 Premier League Liverpool / Arsenal NBC: 1009000 / Universo: 91000 1,100,000
2 8/24 Liga MX Apertura Tigres / América Univision: 1100000 1,100,000
3 8/25 Premier League Spurs / Newcastle NBCSN: 585000 / Telemundo: 191000 776,000
4 8/24 Liga MX Apertura Cruz Azul / Puebla Univision: 627000 627,000
5 8/24 Premier League Man United / Crystal Palace NBCSN: 549000 / Universo: 37000 586,000
6 8/20 Leagues Cup Club América / Tigres TUDN: 545000 545,000
7 8/25 MLS Los Angeles FC / Los Angeles Galaxy FS1: 217000 / FOXD: 245000 462,000
8 8/25 Liga MX Apertura Toluca / Tijuana Univision: 446000 446,000
9 8/20 Leagues Cup Cruz Azul / Los Angeles Galaxy TUDN: 419000 419,000
10 8/25 Premier League Bournemouth / Man City NBCSN: 384000 384,000
11 8/24 Premier League Norwich / Chelsea NBCSN: 334000 334,000
12 8/24 Liga MX Apertura Querétaro / León UniMás: 314000 314,000
13 8/23 MLS Portland Timbers / Seattle Sounders ESPN: 304000 304,000
14 8/22 MLS Sporting Kansas City / Minnesota United ESPN: 285000 285,000
15 8/23 MLS Orlando City SC / Atlanta United ESPN: 266000 266,000
16 8/21 MLS Los Angeles FC / San Jose Earthquakes UniMás: 251000 251,000
17 8/23 Liga MX Apertura Santos / Monterrey FOXD: 222000 222,000
18 8/23 Liga MX Apertura Morelia / Pumas TUDN: 213000 213,000
19 8/23 Liga MX Apertura Veracruz / Atlético San Luis TUDN: 186000 186,000
20 8/21 MLS DC United / New York Red Bulls UniMás: 177000 177,000
21 8/25 Serie A Roma / Genoa ESPN: 177000 177,000
22 8/25 MLS FC Cincinnati / Columbus Crew SC FS1: 153000 153,000
23 8/23 Premier League Aston Villa / Everton NBCSN: 151000 151,000
24 8/25 MLS FC Dallas / Houston Dynamo FS1: 132000 132,000
25 8/26 Liga MX Femenil Tigres / Monterrey TUDN: 113000 113,000
26 8/24 MLS New York City FC / New York Red Bulls ESPN2: 110000 110,000
27 8/24 Bundesliga Schalke / Bayern TUDN: 80000 80,000
28 8/22 CONCACAF League Alianza / Tauro TUDN: 63000 63,000
29 8/26 Liga MX Femenil América / Tijuana TUDN: 53000 53,000
30 8/20 UCL Playoff APOEL / Ajax TUDN: 36000 36,000
31 8/21 UCL Playoff Olympiakos Piraeus / Krasnodar TUDN: 20000 20,000
32 8/22 CONCACAF League Forge FC / Olimpia TUDN: 19000 19,000
33 8/24 Bundesliga Dusseldorf / Leverkusen TUDN: 14000 14,000
34 8/20 UCL Playoff LASK Linz / Club Brugge Galavision: 11000 11,000
35 8/21 UCL Playoff Young Boys / Crvena Zvezda Galavision: 10000 10,000
36 8/22 CONCACAF League Waterhouse / Herediano TUDN: 7000 7,000
37 8/25 Bundesliga RB Leipzig / Frankfurt TUDN: 6000 6,000

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

HT ShowBuzz Daily