MLS Soccer Sunday again saw huge viewership increases on ESPN2 and FS1 when compared to last season. Minnesota United’s snowy home opener against fellow expansion side Atlanta United was watched by 278,000 viewers on ESPN2, up 41% from 197,000 for New York City FC’s home opener in 2016, also on ESPN2. On FS1, 223,000 watched the Portland Timbers 1-0 road defeat of the Los Angeles Galaxy, an increase of 27% from 175,000 viewers for the corresponding match in 2016.
In a weekend without Liga MX, Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated American soccer viewership with both teams drawing more than half a million viewers each for their matches. Due to the referee strike in Mexico, Univision elected to air an extra MLS match Saturday evening, a 0-0 draw between Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas. At only 97,000 viewers, it was the least watched MLS match since May 27, 2016 when Sporting Kansas City hosted DC United. Both matches were available exclusively on Univision Deportes Network.
FOX Sports 1 aired the league meeting between Celtic and Rangers of the Scottish Premiership. An audience of 73,000 watched Rangers take a point away from Celtic Park. Old Firm ratings have greatly increased over the course of the 2016-17 season with the first match between the two rivals attracting only 23,000 viewers opposite a Manchester Derby that drew 826,000 on NBCSN and Telemundo.
The viewing number for the Chelsea-Manchester United FA Cup quarterfinal hasn’t been released as of press time.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for March 7-12, 2017:
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3/12/17 | La Liga | Real Madrid / Real Betis | beIN; 110000 | beIE; 414000 | 524,000 |
| 2 | 3/12/17 | La Liga | Coruña / Barcelona | beIN; 112000 | beIE; 410000 | 522,000 |
| 3 | 3/12/17 | Premier League | Liverpool / Burnley | NBCSN; 434000 | ; — | 434,000 |
| 4 | 3/8/17 | Copa MX | Tijuana / América | —; — | UDN; 432000 | 432,000 |
| 5 | 3/8/17 | UEFA CL Round of 16 | Barcelona / PSG | FS1; 384000 | ; — | 384,000 |
| 6 | 3/7/17 | UEFA CL Round of 16 | Napoli / Real Madrid | FS2; 104000 | FOXD; 228000 | 332,000 |
| 7 | 3/7/17 | Copa MX | Chivas / Correcaminos | —; — | UDN; 326000 | 326,000 |
| 8 | 3/12/17 | FA Cup | Spurs / Millwall | FS1; 266000 | FOXD; 31000 | 297,000 |
| 9 | 3/11/17 | Premier League | Everton / West Brom | NBCSN; 272000 | Unvso; 21000 | 293,000 |
| 10 | 3/7/17 | SheBelieves Cup | USA / France | FS1; 279000 | —; — | 279,000 |
| 11 | 3/12/17 | MLS | Minnesota United / Atlanta United | ESPN2; 278000 | ESPND; — | 278,000 |
| 12 | 3/12/17 | MLS | Los Angeles Galaxy / Portland Timers | FS1; 223000 | FOXD; 49000 | 272,000 |
| 13 | 3/8/17 | Copa MX | León / Cruz Azul | —; — | UDN; 234000 | 234,000 |
| 14 | 3/7/17 | UEFA CL Round of 16 | Arsenal / Bayern | FS1; 220000 | ESPND; — | 220,000 |
| 15 | 3/11/17 | MLS | New York Red Bulls / Colorado Rapids | UniMás; 152000 | UDN; 56000 | 208,000 |
| 16 | 3/12/17 | La Liga | Celta / Villarreal | —; — | beIE; 199000 | 199,000 |
| 17 | 3/11/17 | FA Cup | Middlesbrough / Man City | FS1; 154000 | FOXD; 30000 | 184,000 |
| 18 | 3/11/17 | FA Cup | Arsenal / Lincoln City | FS2; 102000 | FOXD; 65000 | 167,000 |
| 19 | 3/11/17 | La Liga | Granada / Atlético Madrid | —; — | beIE; 164000 | 164,000 |
| 20 | 3/11/17 | Bundesliga | Bayern / Frankfurt | FS1; 124000 | GolTV; — | 124,000 |
| 21 | 3/7/17 | Copa MX | Chiapas / Puebla | —; — | UDN; 103000 | 103,000 |
| 22 | 3/11/17 | MLS | Sporting Kansas City / FC Dallas | —; — | UDN; 97000 | 97,000 |
| 23 | 3/11/17 | La Liga | Málaga / Alavés | —; — | beIE; 84000 | 84,000 |
| 24 | 3/11/17 | La Liga | Sevilla / Leganés | —; — | beIE; 83000 | 83,000 |
| 25 | 3/11/17 | Bundesliga | Hertha Berlin / Dortmund | FS2; 26000 | FOXD; 49000 | 75,000 |
| 26 | 3/9/17 | UEFA EL Round of 16 | Rostov / Man Utd | FS2; 73000 | ESPND; — | 73,000 |
| 27 | 3/12/17 | Scottish Premiership | Celtic / Rangers | FS1; 73000 | —; — | 73,000 |
| 28 | 3/8/17 | UEFA CL Round of 16 | Dortmund / Benfica | FS2; 35000 | FOXD; 37000 | 72,000 |
| 29 | 3/8/17 | Premier League | Man City / Stoke | NBCSN; 67000 | Unvso; — | 67,000 |
| 30 | 3/9/17 | UEFA EL Round of 16 | Schalke / Mönchengladbach | FS2; 56000 | —; — | 56,000 |
| 31 | 3/10/17 | Bundesliga | Leverkusen / Bremen | FS2; 25000 | FOXD; 31000 | 56,000 |
| 32 | 3/10/17 | La Liga | Espanyol / Las Palmas | —; — | beIE; 45000 | 45,000 |
| 33 | 3/12/17 | Bundesliga | Hamburg / Mönchengladbach | FS2; 24000 | FOXD; 15000 | 39,000 |
| 34 | 3/10/17 | Serie A | Juventus / Milan | beIN; 27000 | ; — | 27,000 |
| 35 | 3/11/17 | Premier League | Hull City / Swansea City | CNBC; 25000 | —; — | 25,000 |
| 36 | 3/11/17 | Serie A | Genoa / Sampdoria | beIN; 19000 | —; — | 19,000 |
| 37 | 3/12/17 | Bundesliga | Schalke / Augsburg | FS2; 19000 | GolTV; — | 19,000 |
| 38 | 3/10/17 | Primeira Liga | Arouca / Porto | —; — | UDN; 7000 | 7,000 |
Average viewing audiences for soccer leagues on US TV:
| League | Average |
|---|---|
| Liga MX | 807,702 |
| Premier League | 462,710 |
| UEFA CL | 359,200 |
| MLS | 307,875 |
| La Liga | 152,971 |
| NWSL | 88,500 |
| Bundesliga | 75,000 |
| Primeira Liga | 35,967 |
| Serie A | 25,627 |
| Ligue 1 | 16,636 |
| Championship | 15,868 |
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