The National Women’s Soccer League Challenge Cup kicked off last weekend. Defending champions North Carolina Courage defeated Portland Thorns FC 2-1 before a television audience of 572,000 on CBS, the largest audience ever for a NWSL match. The final of the NWSL Challenge Cup is also scheduled to air on CBS on July 26.
The English FA Cup made its first appearance on American television in over two years after the property left FOX Sports and moved exclusively to ESPN+ following the 2018 final. The two FA Cup quarter-finals airing on ESPN averaged 257,000 viewers, up about 16% from what the competition averaged on FS1 in all of 2017 and 2018. Manchester United’s extra time victory over Norwich City drew 308,000 viewers, making it the eighth most-watched FA Cup match on cable television since 2016.
The Premier League averaged 275,333 viewers on NBCSN in its second week back, down 29% from 354,444 in the league’s first week back on NBCSN and also down from the league’s pre-COVID average viewership by about 100,000 viewers. However, it is worth pointing out the increased share of matches broadcast mid-week following the league’s return.
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | Network | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6/27 | NWSL Challenge Cup | North Carolina Courage / Portland Thorns | CBS: 572000 | 572,000 |
| 2 | 6/25 | Premier League | Chelsea / Manchester City | NBCSN: 511000 / Universo: 52000 | 563,000 |
| 3 | 6/28 | Premier League | Watford / Southampton | NBCSN: 308000 / Telemundo: 141000 | 449,000 |
| 4 | 6/24 | Premier League | Liverpool / Crystal Palace | NBCSN: 383000 / Universo: 22000 | 405,000 |
| 5 | 6/30 | Premier League | Brighton / Manchester United | NBCSN: 312000 / Universo: 23000 | 335,000 |
| 6 | 6/23 | Premier League | Spurs / West Ham | NBCSN: 315000 | 315,000 |
| 7 | 6/27 | FA Cup | Norwich / Manchester United | ESPN: 308000 | 308,000 |
| 8 | 6/24 | Premier League | Man Utd / Sheffield United | NBCSN: 293000 / Universo: 13000 | 306,000 |
| 9 | 6/22 | Premier League | Manchester City / Burnley | NBCSN: 227000 | 227,000 |
| 10 | 6/28 | FA Cup | Sheffield United / Arsenal | ESPN: 206000 | 206,000 |
| 11 | 6/29 | Premier League | Crystal Palace / Burnley | NBCSN: 184000 | 184,000 |
| 12 | 6/27 | Premier League | Aston Villa / Wolves | NBCSN: 181000 | 181,000 |
| 13 | 6/25 | Premier League | Southampton / Arsenal | NBCSN: 158000 | 158,000 |
| 14 | 6/23 | Premier League | Leicester City / Brighton | NBCSN: 145000 | 145,000 |
| 15 | 6/27 | Bundesliga | Wolfsburg / Bayern München | FS1: 121000 | 121,000 |
| 16 | 6/22 | Serie A | Lecce / AC Milan | ESPN: 115000 | 115,000 |
| 17 | 6/28 | Serie A | Sassuolo / Verona | ESPN: 97000 | 97,000 |
| 18 | 6/23 | Serie A | SPAL / Caligari | ESPN: 90000 | 90,000 |
| 19 | 6/23 | Serie A | Genoa / Parma | ESPN: 83000 | 83,000 |
| 20 | 6/27 | La Liga | Celta / Barcelona | beIN SPORTS: 65000 | 65,000 |
| 21 | 6/24 | Serie A | Atalanta / Lazio | ESPN: 64000 | 64,000 |
| 22 | 6/30 | La Liga | Barcelona / Atletico Madrid | beIN SPORTS: 53000 | 53,000 |
| 23 | 6/27 | Serie A | Cagliari / Torino | ESPN2: 49000 | 49,000 |
| 24 | 6/27 | Bundesliga | Borussia Dortmund / Hoffenheim | UniMás: 23000 | 23,000 |
| 25 | 6/27 | Bundesliga | Augsburg / RB Leipzig | TUDN: 9000 | 9,000 |
