US-Mexico nets 5.3 million on FS1 & Univision for qualifier

Friday’s broadcast of the USA against Mexico World Cup qualification game on FS1 and Univision was watched by an audience of 5.3 million, according to Sports TV Ratings.

During Friday’s pre-match coverage on FOX Sports 1, analyst Alexi Lalas proclaimed that the game was the biggest match the USA faced since the World Cup 2014 Round of 16 game versus Belgium. While the game may have been the most important on the pitch since Belgium, the viewing numbers off-the-field painted a different picture.

An average of 1.262 million tuned in to watch Friday’s game on FS1, while 4.053 million watched the game between Univision and Univision Deportes. That 5.3 million total is down approximately 20% compared to the 6.6 million who watched the CONCACAF Cup game between USA and Mexico, which was played October, 2016.

For the CONCACAF Cup game in 2015, FOX Sports had a viewing average of 1.5 million people, while Univision had 5.1 million viewers.