During MLS Rivalry Week, Major League Soccer saw seven matches nationally televised across ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1, with those matches averaging 209,571 viewers. English-language viewership peaked for the second match of ESPN’s Friday night doubleheader between Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders, which averaged 304,000 viewers.
Viewership for the weekend reached its lowest point the following day on ESPN2 for the Hudson River Derby that only managed to average 110,000 viewers. Finally, on Sunday, FS1 aired a rare MLS tripleheader that averaged 167,333 viewers. The most-viewed match of the night, el Tráfico, was outdrawn on FS1’s sister network, FOX Deportes, with the two combining for 462,000 total viewers.
TUDN’s coverage of the 2019 Leagues Cup semifinals saw a 98% increase in viewership from the quarterfinal round, with the competition’s only all-Liga MX matchup so far bringing in the highest viewership numbers as 545,000 saw Tigres defeat Club América on penalties on TUDN.
For the first Serie A match shown on US television this season, ESPN saw a 16% decline in viewership compared to the opening broadcast of last season. ESPN’s first-ever Serie A broadcast in 2018 featured Juventus taking on Lazio on ESPN2 and drew 210,000 viewers. This year, the opening broadcast featured Roma and Genoa on the flagship network and averaged 177,000 viewers.
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | Network | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8/24 | Premier League | Liverpool / Arsenal | NBC: 1009000 / Universo: 91000 | 1,100,000 |
| 2 | 8/24 | Liga MX Apertura | Tigres / América | Univision: 1100000 | 1,100,000 |
| 3 | 8/25 | Premier League | Spurs / Newcastle | NBCSN: 585000 / Telemundo: 191000 | 776,000 |
| 4 | 8/24 | Liga MX Apertura | Cruz Azul / Puebla | Univision: 627000 | 627,000 |
| 5 | 8/24 | Premier League | Man United / Crystal Palace | NBCSN: 549000 / Universo: 37000 | 586,000 |
| 6 | 8/20 | Leagues Cup | Club América / Tigres | TUDN: 545000 | 545,000 |
| 7 | 8/25 | MLS | Los Angeles FC / Los Angeles Galaxy | FS1: 217000 / FOXD: 245000 | 462,000 |
| 8 | 8/25 | Liga MX Apertura | Toluca / Tijuana | Univision: 446000 | 446,000 |
| 9 | 8/20 | Leagues Cup | Cruz Azul / Los Angeles Galaxy | TUDN: 419000 | 419,000 |
| 10 | 8/25 | Premier League | Bournemouth / Man City | NBCSN: 384000 | 384,000 |
| 11 | 8/24 | Premier League | Norwich / Chelsea | NBCSN: 334000 | 334,000 |
| 12 | 8/24 | Liga MX Apertura | Querétaro / León | UniMás: 314000 | 314,000 |
| 13 | 8/23 | MLS | Portland Timbers / Seattle Sounders | ESPN: 304000 | 304,000 |
| 14 | 8/22 | MLS | Sporting Kansas City / Minnesota United | ESPN: 285000 | 285,000 |
| 15 | 8/23 | MLS | Orlando City SC / Atlanta United | ESPN: 266000 | 266,000 |
| 16 | 8/21 | MLS | Los Angeles FC / San Jose Earthquakes | UniMás: 251000 | 251,000 |
| 17 | 8/23 | Liga MX Apertura | Santos / Monterrey | FOXD: 222000 | 222,000 |
| 18 | 8/23 | Liga MX Apertura | Morelia / Pumas | TUDN: 213000 | 213,000 |
| 19 | 8/23 | Liga MX Apertura | Veracruz / Atlético San Luis | TUDN: 186000 | 186,000 |
| 20 | 8/21 | MLS | DC United / New York Red Bulls | UniMás: 177000 | 177,000 |
| 21 | 8/25 | Serie A | Roma / Genoa | ESPN: 177000 | 177,000 |
| 22 | 8/25 | MLS | FC Cincinnati / Columbus Crew SC | FS1: 153000 | 153,000 |
| 23 | 8/23 | Premier League | Aston Villa / Everton | NBCSN: 151000 | 151,000 |
| 24 | 8/25 | MLS | FC Dallas / Houston Dynamo | FS1: 132000 | 132,000 |
| 25 | 8/26 | Liga MX Femenil | Tigres / Monterrey | TUDN: 113000 | 113,000 |
| 26 | 8/24 | MLS | New York City FC / New York Red Bulls | ESPN2: 110000 | 110,000 |
| 27 | 8/24 | Bundesliga | Schalke / Bayern | TUDN: 80000 | 80,000 |
| 28 | 8/22 | CONCACAF League | Alianza / Tauro | TUDN: 63000 | 63,000 |
| 29 | 8/26 | Liga MX Femenil | América / Tijuana | TUDN: 53000 | 53,000 |
| 30 | 8/20 | UCL Playoff | APOEL / Ajax | TUDN: 36000 | 36,000 |
| 31 | 8/21 | UCL Playoff | Olympiakos Piraeus / Krasnodar | TUDN: 20000 | 20,000 |
| 32 | 8/22 | CONCACAF League | Forge FC / Olimpia | TUDN: 19000 | 19,000 |
| 33 | 8/24 | Bundesliga | Dusseldorf / Leverkusen | TUDN: 14000 | 14,000 |
| 34 | 8/20 | UCL Playoff | LASK Linz / Club Brugge | Galavision: 11000 | 11,000 |
| 35 | 8/21 | UCL Playoff | Young Boys / Crvena Zvezda | Galavision: 10000 | 10,000 |
| 36 | 8/22 | CONCACAF League | Waterhouse / Herediano | TUDN: 7000 | 7,000 |
| 37 | 8/25 | Bundesliga | RB Leipzig / Frankfurt | TUDN: 6000 | 6,000 |
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