What a difference a year makes. Last summer, Lionel Messi’s debut against Cruz Azul drew 1.75 million viewers on Univision. That was followed up by 1.45 million, who watched Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup Final on TUDN. Fast forward to the summer of 2024, and Leagues Cup viewership has been a major disappointment. To illustrate, Leagues Cup games are averaging 30,000 viewers on FS1. To put that into context, FOX’s main sports network is currently in 71 million American homes.
What those numbers don’t include are viewership from MLS Season Pass and Spanish-language TV broadcaster Univision. Apple keeps MLS Season Pass metrics a guarded secret, requiring MLS employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Leagues Cup viewership thus far
Here are the FS1 viewing numbers that have been published online by TV Media Blog:
| Date | Teams | No. of viewers |
| 8/4 | Philadelphia vs Cruz Azul | 72,000 |
| 7/26 | Pumas vs Austin FC | 39,000 |
| 7/28 | Club Leon vs Portland | 36,000 |
| 8/6 | New England vs Nashville | 35,000 |
| 8/7 | LAFC vs Austin FC | 31,000 |
| 8/1 | Toluca vs Chicago Fire | 29,000 |
| 8/9 | Club America vs Atlas | 28,000 |
| 7/30 | Monterrey vs Austin FC | 25,000 |
| 8/4 | Seattle vs Necaxa | 25,000 |
| 7/28 | NYCFC vs Queretaro | 24,000 |
| 7/27 | Chivas vs San Jose | 23,000 |
| 8/8 | Tigres vs Pachuca | 19,000 |
| 8/8 | San Jose vs Necaxa | 14,000 |
| Average: | 30,769 |
However, these numbers starkly contrast with the viewership Leagues Cup witnessed in 2023 on the same FS1 channel. For instance, some of the viewership numbers for FS1 in the summer of 2023 included:
• 173,000 for Club America vs. St Louis
• 148,000 for Puebla vs. Chicago Fire
• 142,000 for Monterrey vs. Seattle
• 121,000 for Monterrey vs. Portland
• 119,000 for Chicago vs. Club America
• 101,000 for New England vs. Queretaro
FS1 averaged below 150,000 for the Leagues Cup in 2023.
Reasons for the drop
Lionel Messi’s injury that forced him to miss the entire Leagues Cup this summer has been a blow. The Argentine broke through with Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup last year. His subsequent absences from Inter Miami’s four games have taken away much of the grandeur of the still-young competition. Regardless, the tournament’s problems are much bigger than one player.
There is not a longstanding rivalry between certain MLS clubs and Liga MX counterparts. In each league, there are noted stories. Club America against Chivas and LA Galaxy and LAFC are two games that would court audiences. Club Leon against the Portland Timbers is not going to be enough to drive audiences to watch games. Granted, these types of stories take time to develop. Perhaps as the Leagues Cup plays out over the years more MLS clubs will develop relationships with select Liga MX clubs. That could explain why some MLS clubs have been notably active on social media against Liga MX opposition.
One other reason for the curious viewership figures could be the timing of games. Although there is no overt competition for viewers without many sports on TV at this point of the summer, many of these games on FS1 in the Leagues Cup have been midweek affairs. Moreover, fans may have simply seen enough soccer for their liking on the back of the Copa America and European Championship.
As the semifinals of the Leagues Cup beckon, both games involving four MLS teams are exclusively on MLS Season Pass. Again, those viewership numbers are kept under tight wraps by Apple. Therefore, it will be hard to see how audiences for the sophomore competition look from here on out.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
