SOCCER TV RATINGS on Weekly Basis..(MLS, EPL, UEFA)

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296,000 viewers (ages 2+) for Barcelona vs Levante on ESPN U.S.

(489,000 viewers on ESPN Deportes is based on the NTI Hispanic subset, which has reliability issues.)

If you factor the English and Spanish viewership, then the Barcelona game was the most watched soccer telecast last week. Otherwise, (the English viewership) it would be the #3 most watched game for last week.

We had about 440K viewers watching MLS and Barcelona game at the same time on NBCSports and ESPN respectively. There is no information on the regional MLS games that aired at the same time.

Sometimes we forget that we might have competing soccer games that air at the same time opposite a national telecast. So, one could say there is some dilution factor with viewership.

It should be pointed that we had this many viewers during a Saturday afternoon which tends to be a weak slot for tv viewership.

any word on the champions league ratings on FOX soccer and FX?


btw, i was browsing the son of bronx website for tv ratings, and I noticed that the Sporting Kansas City vs LA Galaxy game actually had less viewers than a college lacrosse game going on at a similar time on ESPN.

while attendance is great, the tv ratings are concerning this season on ESPN. I'm not even sure why, cause the ratings really should be higher. I just find it hard to believe SKC vs LA can only get 215K viewers. It almost seems very random, as this game gets 400K+ on another day.

April is a bad time to try to draw TV viewers with weaker brands especially on weekend afternoons. Too many people are getting their first chance at outdoor activities. Little League baseball and softball are starting. The garden and the yard both need work.

The best time to draw TV viewers is between early November to mid-December, and January-February, when the weather is bad.

Wasn't that the game that was practically unwatchable because KC was in light blue and LA was in white jerseys? That was a terrible job by the person responsible for match jerseys. LA should have been in their navy jerseys and it would have been fine.

I haven't noticed very much in terms of ads for MLS on ESPN2. I've seen quite a bit for NBC Sports on the other hand. ESPN2 also seems to have the games on at random times which I have yet to truly figure out. None of that can be helpful if you're looking to get viewers.

MLS really needs to get better in terms of the timing of games. Pick days and times for the national games of the week and stick with it. I realize they aren't the NFL but you're never guessing as to when an NFL game will be on.

I don't see MLS staying on the ESPN Networks past 2014.

MLS matches on the ESPN Networks are scheduled at the convenience of ESPN, Inc., not at the convenience of MLS.

ESPN, Inc. tried to give MLS first-class treatment in 2007 with a 2.5-hour time slot on Thursday nights, but the viewers didn't show up in large enough numbers for ESPN to continue the financial commitment.

(What NBC Sports Network is doing with MLS in 2012 isn't all that different from what ESPN, Inc. tried to do with MLS in 2007. The only difference: NBC Sports Network doesn't have enough events that are "bigger" than MLS at this time. That will change.)

(Ditto FOX Soccer, which had to cut back on MLS after 2007. FOX Soccer is no longer involved. Ditto HDNet, which gave up on MLS after 2010.)

yup. ESPN's just playing out the string on MLS

It would have made sense if MLS was able to switch more games on ESPN2..>Sometimes, we end-up with a match-up that is not attractive or suitable for a national telecast...

MLS rating's tend to inch-up during the 2nd half of the season (especially during the summertime)...This summer we have the EUROs (some MLS games are scheduled around the Euros), and World Football challenge (ESPN/ESPN2 will telecast about 7 games from these friendlies).

Thursday night is also a key difference.

even in 2007, those Thursday night ESPN/2 timeslots were "scheduled at the convenience of ESPN, Inc., not at the convenience of MLS."

yes, it was "first-class treatment" if you ignore all of the other stuff ESPN (SportsCenter) didn't do, with respect to their treatment/presentation/coverage of MLS.

not, saying MLS deserved better treatment (or that the audiences that MLS can/does bring in "deserves" better and more in-depth/expanded coverage/analysis), but I do think it is a bit off-target to claim that (on it's own) a 2.5 hour timeslot on Thursday (up against very strong primetime network television, or after primetime on the East Coast depending on the game/location) is "first-class" treatment, given all of the other "second-class" treatment the league has regularly received from ESPN.

yes, at this time NBCSN and MLS are a "better fit" probably, than ESPN and MLS are, but I'm not convinced that MLS won't be staying on the ESPN Networks past 2014.

for as little "value" as the current MLS product is, I do think SUM will work to continue to package assets and present something overall (at a reasonable rate) that would likely lead to ESPN opting to continue their relationship with MLS/SUM.

Yeah, but Fox's current lack of involvement was SUM/MLS's decision ahead of the 2012 season. FoxSoccer still wanted (and was working and willing to spend) to be involved and apparently had a richer bid on the table, but SUM/MLS opted for the overall package/coverage that NBC/NBCSN was offering to be the 2nd-tier English-language partner of the league/SUM from 2012-2014.

ESPN will more than likely become a secondary outlet for MLS after 2014. MLS is still undervalued, and the upside is very attractive. But who knows, ESPN could surprise us as well by taking a more serious approach towards MLS in the next tv cycle.

ESPN might entertain the idea of a 20-25 game package (with two or three playoff games included), but without the All Star game and the Final (which be handed to the primary outlet for MLS). NBC/Comcast could be the primary suitor for the MLS games. FOX/FOX Soccer might also be back in the loop with the two World Cup on the horizon.

Ratings info for last week's UEFA Champions League semifinals, first leg:

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...ampaign=Feed: Tvbythenumbers (TVbytheNumbers)

Here is the breakdown for the UEFA Champions League Semis...

Wednesday's Semis on FX + FOX Deportes:

FX attracted an audience of 592,000 viewers a network-record for soccer, and the most watched English-language soccer match on US television since FOX Sports’ Barclay’s Premier League broadcast between Chelsea and Manchester United on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 (1.377 million). It is also believed to be the most-watched UEFA Champions League non-final match ever.

The game also attracted another 566,000 viewers on FOX Deportes, and 1.158 million when combined with the FX audience, +3% compared to last year’s combined first Wednesday semifinal. The Key Demo M18-34 posted significant increase of +33% (472K vs. 355K last year).

The Tuesday's game: Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes

Fox Soccer: The first semifinal match on Tuesday, April 17, a scored 308,000 viewers, up +20% from the network’s first semifinal from last year.

FOX Deportes: Scored 447,000 viewers...The combined audience was 755,000 viewers, +37% compared to the opening Tuesday semifinal in 2011.

Some more updates...

ESPN2's DC United-Red Bulls on Sun (344K viewers); NBCSN's Chicago-Toronto on Sat (79K viewers)[/B]

Perhaps, Sunday afternoons or later evenings seem to be a better fit for MLS than Saturday afternoons...The 344K is the highest rated MLS game so far this season on ESPN/ESPN2.

79K is pathetic

MLS on a Saturday afternoon, in April, with a Canadian team involved, is NOT supposed to draw much of a TV audience in the U.S.

NBC Sports Network won't be available for MLS matches at night until June. NBC Sports Group invested too much money in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ESPN Research ‏ @ESPNResearch

Saturday's El Clasico (Barcelona v. Real Madrid) on ESPN Deportes was the most-watched telecast on Spanish language cable TV this year.

This is the first official reporting about the ratings...We should see the specific number for ESPNDeportes, and perhaps ESPN3.com.

GOLTV probably had around 200K-300K (it is hard to get numbers from them)...

El Clasico has been gaining a lot of traction the last few years. Hopefully, Al Jazeera finds a good partner for the distribution of La Liga matches (NBC/Comcast/Telemendo?)

El Clasico deserves mainstream distribution...

I was expecting a lot less than that. A Canadian team who also happens to be the worst team in the league, vs Chicago who have terrible local ratings to begin with.

The ESPN2 numbers are decent. Not sure what is going on with the ESPN1 ratings though.

would it have gotten 79K on FSC? which is in half the number of homes? I would think so.

The match window was a little higher...based on the trends, the match-window probably had about 90K-95K...The match-up was a weak one...Toronto is falling apart. Plus, once again, Saturday afternoons are a weak tv slot.

In the coming weeks, NBCSPN will have better matches. So far, no one is really complaining about the MLS ratings on this network. NBCSports Network is superior replacement over FOX Soccer. Remember, this is their 1st year. They are going to build upon this.

This would have been a 30K game on FSC.

U.S. TV viewership projection for the 2012 UEFA Champions League final:

[result]
1.8 million viewers +/- 20% on FOX

800,000 viewers +/- 20% on FOX Deportes

Big drop off compared to 4.2 million viewers in 2011.[/result]

From FOX's perspective, this was pretty much the worst case scenario for ratings. On top of that, many players will be missing.

The ratings part doesn't really bother me that much, since that was expected, but I don't like how the final will be played by a bunch of reserves. It's just not gonna be a showcase event.

I disagree. I think the best matchup for Fox was an English team and a Spanish team.

I figured the ratings order would be like this.....

1. Real Madrid vs Barcelona
2. Chelsea vs Real Madrid
3. Barcelona vs Bayern
4. Chelsea vs Bayern


One positive I guess i could take out of this, is that people will start to realize that there are many good teams in Europe not named Man United, Chelsea, Barcelona, and RM.