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

HT ShowBuzz Daily