Hi all, This will be the new thread for the 2013 season regrading MLS TV ratings In this thread we can talk about schedules, tv slots, tv stations, tv contracts, general soccer ratings, other sports and TV shows ratings as relates to MLS and of course track and try to speak on MLS TV ratings week to week. The first few posts in this thread will be dedicated to data so that there is always an easy reference point for the historical information and then we can keep a running tab on the ratings in the thread as we did last season.
2012 Regular Season TV Ratings Home teams listed first. All times are Eastern NBC Sports Network (all ratings for 2.5 hour window unless specified) Game 1: 82k (Dal vs NY). Sunday 3:00pm. 3/11/2012 Game 2: 124/145k (2.5 hour/two hour) (PHI vs COLO) Sunday 4:00pm. 3/18/2012 Game 3: 107k (2.5 hour) (SEA vs HOU) Friday 10:00pm 3/23/2012 Game 4: 76k (DC vs DAL) Friday 7:30pm 3/30/2012 Game 5: 123k (LA vs NE) Saturday 11:00pm 3/31/2012 Game 6: 126k/139k (2.5 hour/two hour) (PHI vs COLU) Saturday 4:00pm 4/14/2012 Game 7: 79k (CHI vs TOR) Saturday 3:30pm 4/21/2012 Game 8: 70k (NY vs NE) Saturday 3:30pm 4/28/2012 Game 9: 96k (SEA vs PHI) Saturday 4:00pm 5/5/2012 Game 10: 120k (HOU vs DC) Saturday 4:30pm 5/12/2012 Game 11: 71k (HOU vs LA) Saturday 2:30 5/26/2012 Game 12: 53k (KC vs SJ) Sunday 4:40 5/27/2012 Game 13: 63k (CHI vs NY) Sunday 5:00pm 6/17/2012 Game 14: 137k (NY vs DC) Sunday 7:00pm 6/24/2012 Game 15: 133k (KC vs CHI) Friday 8:00pm 6/29/2012 Game 16: 151k (SEA vs COLO) Saturday 11:00pm 7/7/2012 Game 17: 259k (POR vs LA) Saturday 11:00pm 7/14/2012 Game 18: 60k (SJ vs DAL) Wednesday 11:00pm 7/18/2012 Game 19: 392k (DAL vs LA) Saturday 8:00pm 7/28/2012 Game 20: 233k (PHI vs NE) Sunday 7:00pm 7/29/2012 Game 21: 148k (HOU vs NY) Friday 8:00pm 8/3/2012 Game 22: 405k (POR vs DAL) Sunday 7:00pm 8/5/2012 Game 23: 252k (NY vs HOU) Friday 8:00pm 8/10/2012 Game 24: 52k (COLU vs LA) Wednesday 7:00pm 8/15/2012* Game 25: 98k (DC vs PHI) Sunday 5:00pm 8/19/2012 Game 26: 40k (RSL vs PHI) Friday 7:30pm 8/24/2012 Game 27: 124k (DAL vs LA) Sunday 7:00pm 8/26/2012 Game 28: 121k (COLO vs POR) Friday 10:30pm 8/31/2012 Game 29: 143k (CHIV vs SJ) Sunday 9:00pm 9/2/2012 Game 30: 63k (DAL vs LA) Wednesday 9:00pm 9/5/2012 Game 31: 81k (KC vs HOU) Friday 8:30pm 9/14/2012 Game 32: 45k (RSL vs POR) Saturday 8:00pm 9/22/2012 Game 33: 94k (CHIC vs KC) Friday 8:30pm 9/28/2012 Game 34: 102k (VAN vs SEA) Saturday 9:00pm 9/29/2012 Game 35: 82k (LA vs RSL) Saturday 9:00pm 10/6/2012 Game 36: 101k (SEA vs RSL) Wednesday 10:00pm 10/17/2012 Game 37: 39k (HOU vs PHI) Saturday 7:30pm 10/20/2012 Game 38: 50k (KC vs PHI) Wednesday 8:30pm 10/24/2012 Game 39: 62k (CHI vs DC) Saturday 4:00pm 10/27/2012 Game 40: 101k (POR vs SJ) Saturday 6:30pm 10/27/2012 Average: 119k (includes just the 2.5 hour numbers) * This game overlapped with US @ Mexico friendly on ESPN2 and Univision ESPN2 (all ratings are for a 2 hour window) Game 1: 337k (POR vs PHI) Monday 9:30pm 3/12/2012 Game 2: 344k (DC vs NY) Sunday 6:00pm 4/22/2012 Game 3: 275k (PHI vs NY) Sunday 12:30pm 5/13/2012 Game 4: 146k (CHIV vs LA) Saturday 10:30pm 5/19/2012 Game 5: 213k (HOU vs Dal) Saturday 7:30pm 6/16/2012 Game 6: 320k (SJ vs LA) Saturday 10:00pm 6/30/2012 All Star Game: 530k (MLS vs Chelsea) Wednesday 8:30 7/25/2012 Game 7: 270k (SEA vs LA) Sunday 9:00pm 8/5/2012 Game 8: 163k (CHIV vs LA) Sunday 11:00pm 8/12/2012 Game 9: 130k (NY vs KC) Sunday 9:00pm 8/26/2012 Game 10: 125k (PHI vs DCU) Thursday 8:00pm 9/20/2012 Average: 232k (does not include all star game) ESPN (all ratings are for a 2 hour window) Game 1: 217k (NY vs COLO) Sunday 4:00pm 3/25/2012 Game 2: 215k (KC vs LA) Saturday 4:00pm 4/7/2012* Game 3: 508k (LA vs NY) Saturday 8:00pm 5/5/2012 Game 4: 888k (POR vs SEA) Sunday 5:00pm 6/24/2012** Game 5: 496k (LA vs CHI) Sunday 3:00pm 7/8/2012 Game 6: 344k (NY vs SEA) Sunday 4:00pm 7/15/2012 Game 7: 611k (NY vs PHI) Saturday 2:30pm 7/21/2012 Game 8: 290k (POR vs SEA) Sunday 9:00pm 10/7/2012 Game 9: 211k (SEA vs DAL) Sunday 9:00pm 10/21/2012 Game 10: 265k (LA vs SEA) Sunday 9:00pm 10/28/2012 Average: 405k ESPN/ESPN2 Combined Ratings: 20 games, 318k *Was moved from ESPN2 to ESPN **Had a period of time in first half that overlapped with Italy England Euro QF. The 888k represents only the MLS portion of the telecast. It does not include any of the Euro OT or PK ratings. NBC Game 1: 576k (.4 rating) (POR vs SEA) Saturday 3:30pm 9/15/2012 Game 2: ? (.4 rating) (CHI vs NY) Saturday 3:30pm 10/6/2012* Game 3: ? (.3 rating) (PHI vs NY) Saturday 1:30pm 10/27/2012* *While I don't know the exact ratings of each, we do know that the average of these two games was in the 575k range. (all NBC and NBCSN games averaged out to 151k) Galavision (all ratings are for a 2 hour window) Game 1: 90k (CHIV vs HOU) Sunday 7:00pm 3/11/2012 Game 2: 77k (LA vs DC) Sunday 7:00pm 3/18/2012 Game 3: 24k (KC vs DAL) Sunday 7:00pm 3/25/2012 Game 4: 31k (COLO vs CHI) Sunday 7:00pm 4/1/2012 Game 5: 45k (CHI vs HOU) Sunday 7:00pm 4/15/2012 Game 6: 34k (DAL vs COLO) Sunday 7:00pm 5/6/2012 Game 7: 66k (SJ vs CHIV) Sunday 7:00pm 5/13/2012 Game 8: ?? (POR vs CHI) Sunday 7:00pm 5/20/2012 Game 9: 23k (PHI vs DC) Saturday 7:00pm 6/16/2012 Game 10: 47k (DAL vs CHIV) Saturday 9:00pm 6/23/2012 Game 11: 44k (TOR vs NY) Saturday 9:00pm 6/30/2012 Game 12: 52k (HOU vs DC) Sunday 9:00pm 7/15/2012 Game 13: 31k (PHI vs CHI) Sunday 7:00pm 8/12/2012 Game 14: 104k (NY vs POR) Sunday 7:00pm 8/19/2012 Game 15: 128k (NY vs DC) Wednesday 8:00pm 8/29/2012 Game 16: 93k (HOU vs CHI) Sunday 7:00pm 9/2/2012 Game 17: 81k (Chiv vs DC) Sunday 7:00pm 9/23/2012 Game 18: 53k (LA vs Colo) Sunday 7:00pm 9/30/2012 Game 19: 42k (CHIV vs DAL) Sunday 7:00pm 10/7/2012 Game 20: 57k (SJ vs LA) Sunday 7:00pm 10/21/2012 Game 21: 20k (DAL vs CHIV) Sunday 7:00pm 10/28/2012 Average: 57k (for 20 games) Telefutura All Star Game: 358k (MLS vs Chelsea) Wednesday 8:30 7/25/2012
2012 Playoff TV Ratings Playoffs Game 1: 201k (CHI vs HOU) Wed 9:00pm 10/31/2012 ESPN2 Game 2: 142k (LA vs VAN) Thu 10:30pm 11/1/2012 NBCSN Game 3: 137k (SEA vs RSL) Fri Nov 2 10:00 NBCSN Game 4: 158k (DC vs NY) Sat Nov 3 7:56 NBCSN Game 5: ? (HOU vs KC) Sun Nov 4 3:30 NBC Game 6: 335k (LA vs SJ) Sun Nov 4 9:00 ESPN Game 7: 93k (KC vs HOU) Wed Nov 7 9:05 NBCSN Game 8: 424k (SJ vs LA) Wed Nov 7 11:13 ESPN2 Game 9: 125k (NY vs DC) Thu Nov 8 7:30 NBCSN Game 10: 94k (RSL vs SEA) Thu Nov 8 10:00 NBCSN Game 11: 59k (HOU vs DC) Sun Nov 11 4:00 NBCSN Game 12: 540k (LA vs SEA) Sun Nov 11 8:00 ESPN Game 13: 111k (DC vs HOU) Sun Nov 18 4:00 NBCSN Game 14: 485k (SEA vs LA) Sun Nov 18 9:00 ESPN 2012 MLS Cup (LA vs HOU) Sat Dec 1 4:30pm .7/797k on ESPN, 485k on Telefutura
Historical Data MLS Cup Through the Years 2011 Sun., 11/20/11 Galaxy/Dynamo ESPN 0.6 1.039M 2010 Sun., 11/21/10 Rapids/FC Dallas ESPN 0.4 748k 2009 Sun., 11/22/09 Real Salt Lake/Galaxy ESPN 0.7 1.141M 2008 Sun., 11/23/08 Crew/Red Bulls ABC 0.6 907k 2007 Sun., 11/18/07 Dynamo/Revolution ABC 0.8 1.097M 2006 Sun., 11/12/06 Revolution/Dynamo ABC 0.8 1.245M 2005 Sun., 11/13/05 Galaxy/Revolution ABC 0.8 1.137M 2004 Sun., 11/14/04 Wizards/United ABC 0.8 2003 Sun., 11/23/03 Fire/Earthquakes ABC 0.6 876K 2002 Sun., 10/20/02 Revolution/Galaxy ABC 0.8 1.169M 2001 Sun., 10/21/01 Galaxy/Earthquakes ABC 1.0 2000 Sun., 10/15/00 Fire/Wizards ABC 0.7 1999 Sun., 11/21/99 United/Galaxy ABC 0.7 1998 Sun., 10/25/98 Fire/United ABC 1.0 1997 Sun., 10/26/97 Rapids/United ABC 1.4 1996 Sun., 10/20/96 United/Galaxy ABC 1.4 2011 Final Ratings ESPN: 4 games: 498k ESPN2: 17 games: 238k ESPN/ESPN2 Combined: 21 games: 288k FSC: 29 games: 71k Galavision: 18 games: 72k Telefutura: 12 games 233K rating All Star Game vs Man United: 781k Wed 8:30pm July 27, 2011 on ESPN2 2010 Final Ratings ESPN2: 25 games 249K FSC: 25 games 53k Telefutura: 23 games 211k All Star Game vs Man United: 714k Wed July 28, 2010 on ESPN2 2009 Final Ratings ESPN2: 22 games 284k FSC: 32 game 53k Telefutura: 24 games 229k All Star Game vs Everton: 484k Wed July 29, 2009 on ESPN2 2008 Final Ratings ESPN2: 27 games 253k (dedicated Thursday night slot) Telefutura: 26 games 254k 2007 Final Ratings ESPN2: 26 games 289k (dedicated Thursday night slot) Telefutura: 24 games 282k 2006 Final Ratings ESPN2 21 games 263k
Sources (while they last) http://www.tvmediainsights.com/2012/07/major-league-soccer-tv-ratings-in-2012/ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/.../ESPN-Booting-MLS-From-Its-Thursday-Slot.aspx http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202740.html http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/10/26/Research-and-Ratings/MLS-TV.aspx http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...LS-Attendance-TV-Viewership-Numbers-Slip.aspx http://www.rslsoapbox.com/2012/3/22...ruggles-on-nbc-sports-while-real-salt-lake-on http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2010/11/record-low-rating-for-2010-mls-cup/ http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2010/07/big-jump-for-mls-all-star-game/ https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/mls-tv-ratings.1845021/#post-24631720 https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/tv-ratings.1742835/page-6#post-2423303
Well the most obvious first post after the data should be to start the discussion on how people feel the ratings will be for next season. This will be the last full season of data we have before the serious negotiations start for the new TV contract which I believe will go into affect at the start of the 2015 season. I am a bit worried we may see a slight drop in the ratings this year as the league will likely be missing the strong lead ins that the Euro quarter final gave to the highest rated ESPN game and the strong lead in that the Olympics gave to numerous highly rated games on NBCSN.
Household ratings will be consistent, on average across the season, comparable to earlier seasons and comparable to or better than many other leagues (save LigaMX) that are carried to US households. Demographic ratings, though scarcely available publically, will be assumed to be fine/strong. Complaints will start early when the midday MLS "SuperDraft" gets a tiny amount of viewers. An MLS club might make a deep CCL run, but audiences on UniMas will dwarf the FOX Soccer viewership as most viewers will no doubt be tuning in to see how the LigaMX clubs are faring. WFC type friendlies will get decent to big audiences for even those games that feature an MLS representative. Lots (relatively speaking) of people will watch USA World Cup qualifying matches in 2013 (the six that will be on major networks), but BeIN (and the 4 away matches they will carry) will not be rated and reported by Nielsen.
This article in the news thread, ranks the various sports channels and gives their average ratings. You can see that MLS is right around the average for ESPN2 and NBCSN but way under for ESPN average ratings. These are the all day averages for the networks. The prime time averages for the MLS thressome are all significantly higher (double or more viewers) than their all day averages. http://www.socceramerica.com/article/49853/fox-soccer-trails-in-cable-viewerships.html Sports Cable Networks (2012 Total-Day Viewers) RANK NETWORK VIEWERS 7 ESPN 1,015,000 36 ESPN2 282,000 54 NFL Network 151,000 58 Speed Network 117,000 63 NBC Sports Network 102,000 68 Golf Channel 95,000 78 ESPN News Network 67,000 82 NBA Network 59,000 85 MLB Network 53,000 86 Velocity 53,000 94 Fox Soccer 26,000 96 Fuel 20,000 Note: Viewers are the time-period averages.
FSC is getting killed by lack of programming. Repeats draw next to nothing all week long. EPL averaged around 150k on FSC last season but one big league can not sustain the network even if they show as many games from that league as possible.
MLS just sent out an email saying the 2012 regular season full schedule will be released tomorrow at noon eastern. Typically the national tv schedule is out at the same time. Whom ever sees it first, please post the information here on the tv schedule.
The 2012 regular season schedule was released a while back if I recall correctly. I think it is the 2013 schedule that is dropping at noon tomorrow, just saying.
This looks great from the Spanish channels point of view. Instead of Galavision, most Sunday games look to have moved to Unimas (which is what Telefutura was rebranded as). And even Univision themselves are showing at least one game. Also good to see ESPN on this schedule as the number of games on that channel will be on interest when the full list is released tomorrow.
Yes, Univision opting to (apparently) place league matches back on the OTA options (and not on Galavision) is a nice improvement for 2013.
Apparently Fox Soccer is going to be turning into Fox Sports Two. Speed Network will be turning into Fox Sports One.
Interesting, many expected Fuel TV to rebranded into Fox Sports 2. I had expected Fox Soccer would become Fox Sports 3 sometimes this summer or fall. Did you see a time frame on this?
Not all that relevant to 2013 for this thread (or even through 2014), since FOX does not have an active MLS/SUM contract, afaik. But FOX does have CCL match coverage.
As mentioned in the first post, I feel this type of stuff is certainly more than fair to talk about in this thread. Even if it is just tangential, I think it is important for us to stay aware of what is happening of any possible MLS TV contract bidders, which Fox may be.
Agreed. I am not at all trying to tamp down reasonable tangential discussion. Although this thread could also head down a slippery slope of what is or could be considered "any possible MLS TV contract bidders."
I hear the Playboy chanel is looking to expand into sports; maybe they can trade some programming with NBCSN and pay the 1 dollar plus transmission fees.
That would be fine with me and I would actively encourage it. I don't think that is a slippery slope at all since there is likely only a very small group who will be bidding on the rights (NBCU/ESPN/Fox/Univision). One of the reasons we track TV ratings is to see how they might affect the next TV contract. It is not really even a tangential discussion.
One thing that will be interesting to try and gleam from the schedule today will be if the NBC telecasts change in time to line up more like a double header with the EPL starting in very late summer.