Club America-Chivas Guadalajara on March 18 drew highest U.S. TV viewership for a professional club soccer match in 13 years [FONT=verdana, arial] [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]March 20, 2007 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]The Mexican First Division Torneo Clausura regular season match between Club America of Mexico City and Chivas Guadalajara on March 18 recorded the highest U.S. television viewership for a professional club soccer match (a soccer match NOT involving national teams) in the past 13 years (since the 1994 World Cup), according to data collected by Nielsen Media Research as part of the Nielsen Television Index (NTI) national general market television rating system. [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]The Club America-Chivas Guadalajara match, dubbed the superclasico because the match pits the two biggest professional soccer clubs in Mexico, drew 4.3 million U.S. TV viewers age 2 and over when it aired live in the U.S. on Unvision on Sunday March 18 at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific. [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]The viewership of the match on March 18 exceeded the 3.956 million U.S. TV viewers age 2 and over who tuned in the last time the two Mexican League rivals clashed in a semifinal match televised live on Univision on Sunday December 10, 2006 at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]Not only did the viewership of the superclasico on March 18 surpassed the viewership of any other professional club soccer match on U.S. television (including both Major League Soccer and the Mexican First Division) in the past 13 years, the U.S. TV viewership of the match surpassed the U.S. TV viewership of every National Hockey League (NHL) telecast on both NBC and Versus (formerly OLN) during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 NHL seasonswith the exception of Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final series between Carolina and Edmonton, which aired on NBC and drew 5.45 million viewers age 2 and over. [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]The viewership of the superclasico serves as a reminder of the effect of the immigration of Mexicans to the U.S. primarily in search of economic opportunities. Mexicans living in the U.S. has reminded the sports and media industries in the U.S. once again that they want to watch their teams. [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial]The defunct North American Soccer League (NASL), which folded in 1984, averaged about 2 million households and just under 4 million viewers on ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1979 season, before the launch of cable sports TV powerhouse ESPN. [/FONT]
What does this have to do with MLS? There's a lot of Mexicans in this country and the America-Chivas game is big, we get that already.
Well if you can show those Mexican viewers that watching MLS is as entertaining and as competitive as their league. It's good news, NHL doesn't have millions of Canadians crossing the border looking to watch NHL. We have something great to tap into, not withstanding your political views, what great businessman know how to do is to exploit a stituation. And we our getting very close with how our teams have been doing in the Concacaf Champions then you have Superliga with a million purse coming up. What if we get 3 million mexican viewers and then 1 or 2 million MLS fans to watch these games. Sponsors can't ignore that no matter if it's just Mexicans in this country. Another great reminder for sponsors. "Oh you don't want to support MLS?" throw this in front of them, "well sponsor this is your only chance to tap into that market." Oh I get Univision at school and I watched the game. I'm not mexican.
If MLS clubs actually do well in the Superliga or if one of the two sides go through I think it would leave an impression on some of the Mexican fans who think MLS is inferior.
Kinda related on a tangential level. FMF is enjoying a renaissance in Mexico, and that renaissance has been able to be duplicated or extended to the US. While most of this can be attributed to a system that ensures parity and legit opportunities for smaller clubs to compete w/ the big guns, part of that renaissance lies in the fact Chivas Guadalajara and Club America have managed to be relatively successful. This is especially the case w/ Chivas. Connection to MLS? Chivas' brand-name is at unseen heights here in the US, which connects to MLS b/c of Chivas USA. I think the more important issue is that it shows that the market for pro soccer is booming. FMF and MLS are cooperating to maximize potential profits from this growing demand. SUM has been extremely successful in eliminating the run-and-gun promoters who promote events/friendlies that have no vision other than to make money for themselves and serve the temporary needs of their clientele, kinda like youth soccer in the US. While that sucks for these mom-and-pop operations (more like, cocaine-and-hookers operations), ultimately it's for the benefit of consumers to have a consolidated, healthy, sustainable series of products. Just another notch in the "pro soccer is expanding as a viable, profitable consumer product" belt. EDIT: also, it makes it more likely that more soccer will be available on more channels at better prices for more consumers.
Not MLS, true. But I sent this news story to my local sports newspaper editor anyway. For the most part newspaper sports editors have a disdain for anything soccer. Any evidence we can provide of the game's popularity in our nation is important for them to hear, I think.
now you're just spreading lies. we all know that only Canadians watch hockey and only Mexicans watch soccer. duh...
I think there was a very similar story after the last Chivas/America match as well. Not sure if this is news really.
It's a very important story. I was glad to hear over a year ago that the Spanish network ratings will be counted the same as the regular networks, and this story is a biproduct of that.
Hello Mac-Fly, this is the same audience that MLS is targetting. So don't be so quick to dismiss this.
When Jack Kent Cooke, who then owned the LA Kings, was told that more than 300,000 Canadians lived within three hours of LA, he said "Now I know why they left Canada: They hate hockey!"
So if Chivas/Club America got an audience that high from an American audience, imagine how much MLS is gonna grow when it's games become more available in different languages and that same network (Univision). It will be a while I think until MLS could top that match in viewership, but I do think it's gonna jump compared to last year.
Also remember that this game started at 10PM Eastern time on a school (Sun.) night. If it had been earlier in the evening, it might've drawn even more.
I posted this here due to the possible financial/economic impact it can lend towards MLS, the CCC games, and the upcoming SuperLiga. Bottom line: These numbers show potential for MLS.
Well what tipped the scale for this particular Chivas game were the throngs of DC United fans tuning in to see how they faired against America in anticipation of the second leg in Guadalajara. So of course they had the biggest rating when tons of MLS fans were watching it too! (ducks under table)