It was a down week overall for soccer TV viewing in this country last week. Total Liga MX viewership was down almost 27% compared to the previous week while total viewership of the Premier League was down 20%.
Saturday afternoon produced the least-watched Premier League match on NBC since November 19, 2016. Only 645,000 viewers tuned in for the 0-0 draw featuring Southampton and Bournemouth. NBC nearly matched that number the following day on its cable network as 631,000 watched Arsenal and Manchester City play to a 2-2 draw.
FOX Sports’ Friday night MLS doubleheader averaged 215,000 viewers from 7:30 pm to midnight ET, bringing FOX’s average MLS audience for the season down to 268,000. FOX’s viewership for MLS has been falling steadily since the opening weekend one month ago. However, viewership is up by 14,000 when compared to this time last season.
It’s a similar story for ESPN. Their Sunday evening match between the Portland Timbers and New England Revolution attracted 266,000 viewers on ESPN2.
It’s likely things will turn around soon as MLS returns to the primary ESPN network next week then makes its first of four appearances on the over-the-air FOX broadcast network this season on April 15.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for March 31-April 2, 2017:
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4/1/17 | Liga MX | América / Monterrey | Univision; 835000 | UDN; 465000 | 1,300,000 |
| 2 | 4/1/17 | Liga MX | Tigres / León | Univision; 497000 | UDN; 242000 | 739,000 |
| 3 | 4/1/17 | Premier League | Southampton / Bournemouth | NBC; 645000 | —; — | 645,000 |
| 4 | 4/2/17 | Premier League | Arsenal / Man City | NBCSN; 631000 | —; — | 631,000 |
| 5 | 4/2/17 | La Liga | Granada / Barcelona | beIN; 118000 | beIE; 393000 | 511,000 |
| 6 | 4/1/17 | Premier League | Chelsea / Crystal Palace | NBCSN; 448000 | Unvso; 47000 | 495,000 |
| 7 | 4/2/17 | Liga MX | Toluca / Necaxa | Univision; 326000 | UDN; 110000 | 436,000 |
| 8 | 4/2/17 | La Liga | Real Madrid / Alavés | beIN; 77000 | beIE; 246000 | 323,000 |
| 9 | 4/1/17 | Premier League | Liverpool / Everton | NBCSN; 287000 | Unvso; 19000 | 306,000 |
| 10 | 3/31/17 | MLS | Seattle Sounders / Atlanta United | FS1; 224000 | FOXD; 47000 | 271,000 |
| 11 | 4/2/17 | MLS | Portland Timbers / New England Revolution | ESPN2; 266000 | ESPND; — | 266,000 |
| 12 | 4/2/17 | Premier League | Swansea City / Middlesbrough | NBCSN; 256000 | —; — | 256,000 |
| 13 | 4/1/17 | Liga MX | Chiapas / Pumas | —; — | UDN; 226000 | 226,000 |
| 14 | 4/2/17 | Liga MX | Santos / Querétaro | —; — | UDN; 192000 | 192,000 |
| 15 | 4/1/17 | MLS | Columbus Crew / Orlando City | UniMás; 117000 | UDN; 48000 | 165,000 |
| 16 | 3/31/17 | MLS | Toronto FC / Sporting Kansas City | FS1; 113000 | FOXD; 46000 | 159,000 |
| 17 | 4/1/17 | Premier League | Man Utd / West Brom | CNBC; 151000 | —; — | 151,000 |
| 18 | 4/2/17 | La Liga | Valencia / Deportivo | —; — | beIE; 89000 | 89,000 |
| 19 | 4/1/17 | La Liga | Málaga / Atlético Madrid | —; — | beIE; 85000 | 85,000 |
| 20 | 4/2/17 | Bundesliga | Ingolstadt / Mainz | FS1; 51000 | FOXD; 23000 | 74,000 |
| 21 | 3/31/17 | Friendly | Mexico Legends / La Liga Legends | beIN; 8000 | beIE; 58000 | 66,000 |
| 22 | 4/1/17 | La Liga | Sociedad / Leganés | —; — | beIE; 63000 | 63,000 |
| 23 | 4/1/17 | Bundesliga | Frankfurt / Mönchengladbach | FS2; 14000 | FOXD; 43000 | 57,000 |
| 24 | 4/2/17 | Bundesliga | Leverkusen / Wolfsburg | FS2; 15000 | FOXD; 40000 | 55,000 |
| 25 | 4/1/17 | Coupe de la Ligue | Monaco / PSG | beIN; 54000 | —; — | 54,000 |
| 26 | 4/1/17 | Liga MX | Pachuca / Puebla | —; — | Unvso; 48000 | 48,000 |
| 27 | 4/1/17 | Bundesliga | Schalke / Dortmund | FS2; 33000 | —; — | 33,000 |
| 28 | 3/31/17 | La Liga | Espanyol / Real Betis | —; — | beIE; 25000 | 25,000 |
| 29 | 4/1/17 | La Liga | Osasuna / Athletic | —; — | beIE; 23000 | 23,000 |
| 30 | 3/31/17 | Bundesliga | Hertha Berlin / Hoffenheim | FS2; 20000 | —; — | 20,000 |
| 31 | 4/1/17 | Serie A | Sassuolo / Lazio | beIN; 15000 | —; — | 15,000 |
| 32 | 4/1/17 | Bundesliga | RB Leipzig / Darmstadt | —; — | FOXD; 10000 | 10,000 |
| 33 | 3/31/17 | EFL Championship | Derby / QPR | beIN; 3000 | —; — | 3,000 |
| 34 | 4/1/17 | EFL Championship | Brentford / Bristol | beIN; 3000 | —; — | 3,000 |
| 35 | 4/1/17 | NASL | Cosmos / Miami FC | beIN; 3000 | —; — | 3,000 |
Average viewing audiences for soccer leagues on US TV:
| League | Average |
|---|---|
| Liga MX | 787,737 |
| Premier League | 464,038 |
| UEFA CL | 430,955 |
| MLS | 278,545 |
| La Liga | 153,624 |
| NWSL | 88,500 |
| Bundesliga | 73,417 |
| Primeira Liga | 36,000 |
| Serie A | 25,527 |
| Ligue 1 | 16,636 |
| Championship | 14,833 |
| NASL | 2,500 |
MLS 2017 viewing average compared to previous years
| League | Overall | ESPN | FOX ( /NBC ) | Univision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 MLS | 261,667 | 318,333 | 268,833 | 226,167 |
| 2016 MLS | 266,467 | 279,094 | 264,656 | 247,148 |
| 2015 MLS | — | 240,000 | 142,000 | — |
| 2014 MLS | — | 220,000 | 112,000 | — |
| 2013 MLS | — | 311,000 | 125,000 | — |
