It was a fantastic New Year’s Eve for the Premier League on NBC as Saturday afternoon’s match between Liverpool and Manchester City was watched by over 1.2 million people, which was the first Premier League match this season to pass that mark. When factoring in the audience watching on NBC Universo, the match averaged an impressive 1.377 million viewers.
The Premier League on NBC beat out college basketball on CBS by 24,000 viewers with both games kicking (or tipping) off at the same time. The Premier League on NBC also outdrew the NHL Centennial Classic, airing the next day on NBC, by 300,000 viewers.
The Scottish Premiership made its return to FOX Sports 1 last weekend as Celtic came back to defeat Rangers 2-1 in the final league meeting between the two rivals. The New Year’s Eve date along with a lack of competition from the English Premier League helped to boost viewing numbers in the United States by 165% as 61,000 tuned in on FOX Sports 1.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for December 27-January 1, 2017:
| Rank | Home | Away | Competition | Date | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | Man City | Premier League | 12/31/16 | NBC; 1235000 | Unvso; 142000 | 1,377,000 |
| 2 | Man Utd | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 12/31/16 | NBCSN; 586000 | Unvso; 72000 | 658,000 |
| 3 | Arsenal | Crystal Palace | Premier League | 1/1/17 | NBCSN; 481000 | —; — | 481,000 |
| 4 | Liverpool | Stoke | Premier League | 12/27/16 | NBCSN; 293000 | —; — | 293,000 |
| 5 | Watford | Spurs | Premier League | 1/1/17 | NBCSN; 265000 | —; — | 265,000 |
| 6 | Southampton | Spurs | Premier League | 12/28/16 | NBCSN; 241000 | —; — | 241,000 |
| 7 | Hull City | Everton | Premier League | 12/30/16 | NBCSN; 136000 | —; — | 136,000 |
| 8 | Rangers | Celtic | Scottish Premiership | 12/31/16 | FS1; 61000 | —; — | 61,000 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | Leeds Utd | Championship | 12/29/16 | beIN; 25000 | —; — | 25,000 |
| 10 | Derby | Birmingham | Championship | 12/27/16 | beIN; 4000 | —; — | 4,000 |
| 11 | Brentford | Norwich | Championship | 12/31/16 | beIN; 4000 | —; — | 4,000 |
| 12 | Preston | Sheffield Wed | Championship | 12/31/16 | beIN; 1000 | —; — | 1,000 |
Most-watched leagues on US TV
| League | Average |
|---|---|
| Liga MX | 806,144 |
| Premier League | 455,604 |
| MLS | 292,365 |
| La Liga | 145,444 |
| NWSL | 88,500 |
| Bundesliga | 79,458 |
| Primeira Liga | 33,000 |
| Serie A | 27,000 |
| Championship | 15,688 |
| Ligue 1 | 14,000 |
| NASL | 7,000 |
SEE MORE: Access our archives of US TV ratings for soccer.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, Women’s World Cup, Euro 2024 & Gold Cup
The New Home of MLS
- Price: $14.99/mo. for MLS Season Pass
- Watch every MLS game including playoffs & Leagues Cup
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $10.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $14.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, Championship, & FA Cup
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $5.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & Brasileirāo
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $5.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season