Last weekend was an awful one for MLS. Broadcasts of the league averaged just 139,000 viewers on TV during weekend, the worst of the season.
FOX Sports 1 delivered the two least viewed matches of the season with both games failing to break the 100,000 viewer mark. You would certainly expect more from a doubleheader featuring some of MLS’ biggest franchises (Seattle-Orlando, and Los Angeles-New York Red Bulls).
The Portland-Sporting Kansas City match on ESPN also ranks as the network’s lowest this season but still managed to beat out 12 broadcasts on FOX Sports 1 and one on ESPN2.
Meanwhile, FOX Sports 1’s coverage of the FA Community Shield drew 292,000 viewers, down 31.8% from 428,000 last year.
CONCACAF Champions League play began last week on Univision Deportes, averaging 102,167 viewers over 6 matches. Matches involving Mexican clubs averaged 139,000 viewers while the rest averaged 65,333. Up against the Olympics, Liga MX viewership remained strong, seeing little change from last week’s numbers and may have actually performed better (as of press time, Galavision data is unavailable).
Elsewhere, Newcastle United’s Championship debut against Fulham on Friday afternoon kicked off a decent opening weekend of Championship soccer on the networks of beIN SPORTS with four matches averaging 20,250 viewers. Also on beIN SPORTS, the North American Soccer League managed to draw only 2,000 viewers for the game between Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Here are the TV viewing numbers from last week:
Domestic Numbers for the Week
| Date | Competition | Start Time | Home | Away | Network 1 | Network 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/3/16 | Olympics | 6:00 PM | United States | New Zealand | NBCSN; 1,300,000 | NBC Universo; Not available | 1,300,000 |
| 8/5/16 | MLS | 11:00 PM | San Jose Earthquakes | New York City FC | UniMás; Not available | Univision Deportes; 32,000 | 32,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Olympics | 4:00 PM | United States | France | NBCSN; 2,900,000 | NBC Universo; Not available | 2,900,000 |
| 8/6/16 | NASL | 7:30 PM | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | beIN Sports; 2,000 | — | 2,000 |
| 8/7/16 | MLS | 7:00 PM | Orlando City SC | Seattle Sounders | Fox Sports 1; 91,000 | Fox Deportes; 103,000 | 103,000 |
| 8/7/16 | MLS | 9:30 PM | Los Angeles Galaxy | New York Red Bulls | Fox Sports 1; 93,000 | Fox Deportes; 130,000 | 130,000 |
| 8/7/16 | MLS | 4:00 PM | Portland Timbers | Sporting Kansas City | ESPN; 184,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 184,000 |
Foreign Matches on American Television
| Date | Competition | Start Time | Team 1 | Team 2 | Network 1 | Network 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/1/16 | Friendly | 8:30 PM | Liverpool | AS Roma | ESPN2; 234,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 234,000 |
| 8/2/16 | CONCACAF CL | 8:00 PM | Central | Vancouver Whitecaps | — | Univision Deportes; 90,000 | 90,000 |
| 8/2/16 | CONCACAF CL | 10:00 PM | Pachuca | Olimpia | — | Univision Deportes; 153,000 | 153,000 |
| 8/3/16 | Int’l Champions Cup | 2:00 PM | Barcelona | Leicester City | ESPN; 263,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 263,000 |
| 8/3/16 | UEFA CL Playoff | 2:45 PM | AS Monaco | Fenerbahçe | beIN SPORTS; 13,000 | beIN Español; 7,000 | 20,000 |
| 8/3/16 | Int’l Champions Cup | 7:30 PM | Real Madrid | Bayern Munich | ESPN2; 275,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 275,000 |
| 8/3/16 | CONCACAF CL | 8:00 PM | Pumas | W Connection | — | Univision Deportes; 133,000 | 133,000 |
| 8/3/16 | Int’l Champions Cup | 9:30 PM | Chelsea | AC Milan | ESPN2; 250,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 250,000 |
| 8/3/16 | CONCACAF CL | 10:00 PM | Monterrey | Don Bosco | — | Univision Deportes; 131,000 | 131,000 |
| 8/4/16 | CONCACAF CL | 8:00 PM | FC Dallas | Real Estelí | — | Univision Deportes; 50,000 | 50,000 |
| 8/4/16 | CONCACAF CL | 10:00 PM | Plaza Amador | Herediano | — | Univision Deportes; 56,000 | 56,000 |
| 8/5/16 | Championship | 2:45 PM | Fulham | Newcastle United | beIN Sports; 21,000 | beIN Español; 7,000 | 28,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Championship | 10:00 AM | Nottingham Forest | Burton Albion | beIN Sports; 25,000 | beIN Español; 5,000 | 30,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Int’l Champions Cup | 12:00 PM | Liverpool | Barcelona | ESPN; 388,000 | ESPN Deportes; Not available | 388,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Eredivise | 1:30 PM | FC Utrecht | PSV Eindhoven | — | Univision Deportes; 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Trophée des Champions | 2:40 PM | Paris Saint Germain | Lyon | beIN Sports; 8,000 | beIN Español; 18,000 | 26,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Liga MX | 6:00 PM | Cruz Azul | Tijuana | — | Univision Deportes; 339,000 | 339,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Liga MX | 8:06 PM | León | Monterrey | Univision; 474,000 | Univision Deportes; 261,000 | 735,000 |
| 8/6/16 | Liga MX | 10:00 PM | Chivas | Querétaro | Univision; 501,000 | Univision Deportes; 346,000 | 847,000 |
| 8/7/16 | Championship | 7:00 AM | Queens Park Rangers | Leeds United | beIN Sports; 8,000 | beIN Español; 2,000 | 10,000 |
| 8/7/16 | FA Shield | 11:00 AM | Leicester City | Manchester United | Fox Sports 1; 292,000 | Fox Deportes; 79,000 | 371,000 |
| 8/7/16 | Championship | 11:30 AM | Sheffield Wednesday | Aston Villa | beIN Sports; 7,000 | beIN Español; 6,000 | 13,000 |
| 8/7/16 | Liga MX | 1:45 PM | Toluca | Pachuca | Univision; 384,000 | Univision Deportes; 82,000 | 430,000 |
| 8/7/16 | Liga MX | 7:00 PM | Puebla | Santos Laguna | — | Univision Deportes; 314,000 | 314,000 |
Year-to-Date Averages
| League | Overall | ESPN | FOX | Univision | beIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLS | 304,935 | 354,319 | 273,682 | 288,250 | — |
| NASL | 6,700 | — | — | — | 6,700 |
| MLS (2015) | — | 266,000 | 234,000 | 224,000 | — |
Foreign (2016/17):
| League | Average |
|---|---|
| Liga MX | 656,000 |
| Premier League | 0 |
| Championship | 20,250 |
| Bundesliga | 0 |
| La Liga | 0 |
| Serie A | 0 |
| Ligue 1 | 0 |
| Eredivisie | 20,000 |
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