Let’s be honest. It was the game that almost no one wanted to watch but for those of you who did watch it because there was nothing else on or because you love football no matter who is playing, the Stoke City against Wigan Athletic match was a surprising delight.

Because both teams are not big draws, the Nielsen Ratings on ESPN2 for the game weren’t too impressive (the broadcast of the game garnered a 0.2 rating). But the ratings should increase this weekend when ESPN2 shows Portsmouth against Liverpool on Saturday followed by Wigan against Bolton on Monday.

With 20 games shown on ESPN2 so far this season, here are the latest viewing figures for the 2009-2010 season to date:

Top Nielsen Ratings for Premier League Games on ESPN2: August through December 5, 2009:

  1. Liverpool v Aston Villa,  8/24/2009, Monday, 3pm ET, 398391 viewers
  2. Portsmouth v Manchester United,  11/28/2009, Saturday, 10am, 396995
  3. Wigan v Man United, 8/22/2009, Saturday, 10am,  374799
  4. Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/31/2009, Saturday, 8:45am, 325187
  5. Manchester City v West Ham United, 9/28/2009, Monday, 3pm, 293600
  6. Portsmouth v Burnley, 12/5/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 278,078
  7. Portsmouth v Everton, 9/26/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 270927
  8. Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/3/2009,  Saturday, 10am, 265508
  9. Tottenham v Sunderland, 11/7/2009, Saturday, 10am, 259831
  10. Chelsea v Burnley, 8/29/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 253934
  11. Liverpool v Burnley, 9/12/2009, Saturday, 10am, 253779
  12. Aston Villa v Manchester City, 10/5/2009, Monday, 3pm, 248956
  13. Liverpool v Manchester City, 11/21/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 236247
  14. Fulham v Hull City, 10/19/2009, Monday, 3pm, 209207
  15. Aston Villa v Chelsea, 10/17/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 206886
  16. Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa, 10/24/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 204882
  17. Stoke City v Wigan Athletic, 12/12/09, Saturday, 7:45am, 202,000
  18. Burnley v Sunderland, 9/19/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 199380
  19. Liverpool v Birmingham City, 11/9/2009, Monday, 3pm, 182138
  20. Chelsea v Hull City, 8/15/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 164485