Copa America Centenario is a runaway TV hit for Univision

Copa America Centenario has been a runaway hit for Univision, with the Spanish-language network reaching over 45 million viewers to date. With two games remaining, Univision has already averaged over 2.8 million viewers per game. Expectations are that Univision will be able to crush that number with the remaining USA-Colombia and Argentina-Chile games this weekend.

Elsewhere, FOX Sports is averaging 915,808 viewers per Copa America Centenario match after 26 games (unfortunately, FOX hasn’t released TV data for 4 of the games). In a like-for-like comparison, if you remove the USA games from FOX’s numbers and compare the averages between FOX’s Copa America coverage and ESPN’s Euro 2016 matches, FOX Sports is averaging 640,285 viewers per game compared with ESPN’s average of 635,000. At the same time, ESPN’s average for Euro 2016 games thus far (minus the 7 games shown on ESPN2) is 719,069.

Considering that the Euro 2016 games are mostly played during weekday business hours, ESPN’s numbers are quite competitive with FOX’s prime-time viewing numbers.

SEE MORE: Review of FOX Sports’ USA vs. Argentina TV coverage

The 2016 Copa America Centenario has produced the top four men’s soccer audiences in FS1 history, and the most-watched telecast in FS2 history, with viewership for the U.S. matches growing throughout the tournament. The United States’ 2-0 loss to Colombia delivered 1.536 million viewers on June 3; then on June 7, 1.6 million viewers tuned in to see the United States’ crucial 4-0 win over Costa Rica. The third match, in which the Americans clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Paraguay on June 11, averaged 2.061 million viewers. On June 16, the Americans’ 1-0 quarterfinal win over Ecuador was seen by 2.132 million viewers. The record for most-watched men’s soccer match in FS1 history was set June 21 when the Americans’ faced No. 1-ranked Argentina, a match seen by 3.290 million viewers.

At the end of the day, the winner this summer is the soccer fan in the United States who has the ability to watch Copa America Centenario across Univision and FOX Sports as well as Euro 2016 across ESPN and ESPN Deportes.