More than 2 million soccer fans watched the first 2015 edition of el Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid on Sunday across beIN SPORTS.
The impressive number combines the 1.353 million who watched the game live on beIN SPORTS en Espańol and the 767,000 who watched the game on the English-language broadcast on beIN SPORTS.
The 2.12 million total viewers makes the game the most-watched match ever on the beIN SPORTS networks.
Given that beIN SPORTS is in 33 million homes in the United States, the viewing figures are very impressive.
SEE ALSO — Watch Ray Hudson’s emotional visit to Camp Nou
The broadcast of the match delivered a +16% increase in viewership from the previous broadcast of El Clasico (10/25/14) for beIN SPORTS English, and +64% increase in viewership for beIN SPORTS en Espanol.
Ratings peaked +26% during the 5:30 to 5:45 PM quarter hour on beIN SPORTS English, increasing from 767,000 to 968,000. Likewise, for beIN en Espanol, ratings also increased +25% from 1.353 million to 1.693 million viewers between the 5:30-5:45 PM time period of the telecast.
The English-language broadcast of the game featured a 2-hour pre-game show with Kay Murray (pictured above) alongside Michel Salgado, Patrick Kluivert, Gary Bailey and Andres Cordero, while the match commentary was provided by Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson who were on-site in Barcelona at Camp Nou.
The timing of the ratings bonanza is apt given that talks have started to determine the US TV rights holder to La Liga for 2015-2018.
