Here is something I did not know. MLS produced videos had a total 613 million views on the internet. I don’t know how that stacks up against other leagues but that was up 75% over last year. There is growing interest in this league even if TV audiences are small. This league, as we know, has a very young fan base relative to other sports. This is the mobile generation, and MLS is reaching this generation. And that is probably why MLS is selling out all of its commercial spots over the last three years.
No idea. Southampton - Man U last week got 863k on NBC. Liverpool - Everton on cable 553k. Spurs - Chelsea on 11/24 got 824k on NBC.
For the first time since its launch 25 years ago, ESPN2 will not finish the year as the second-most-viewed sports TV channel. The network behind both NBCSN and FS1. NBCSN was helped by four NASCAR races and three NHL playoff games — Games 2 and 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Capitals and the Golden Knights; and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Capitals and the Lightning. “The NHL, NASCAR, English Premier League all drive ratings and drove our growth," said Mark Lazerus, chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports. FS1’s gains come from its coverage of the World Cup and Big Ten football, plus the MLB playoffs, which included coverage of the NLCS Game 7 between the Dodgers and the Brewers. https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2018/12/10/Media/Sports-media.aspx
Point to note: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the final race of the season with the driver's championship decided two races before, and team (constructor's) championship decided the race before. There was literally nothing on the line except that race win (which is nice, of course). Also, shown in early AM hours EST, West coast it is the wee hours.
Assuming the differences from the samples represent real differences in viewership, my guess is that folks who watch their local team all season have hit a point of fatigue. When their team bows out at the end of the season, MLS is done for them, not so interested in watching another team hoist the cup.
From the Showbuzz Daily (December 11, 2018): MLS Cup 2018 7:56PM: Avg. 1,563,000 http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-12-3-12-9-18.html
You should wait before making such comments. 1.6 mil up from 1.4 mil last time it was on FOX the US viewing number will be over 2 mil once UniMas numbers come in.
Remember MLS has the smallest amount of US based teams out of the Big 5 NFL 32/ NBA 29/ MLB 29/ NHL 24/MLS 20. NHL will soon have 25/26. MLS will have 25 by 2022 and then 29 as the league goes to 32 teams. Important things to remember those league can still get more casuals to tune in because they've been around longer and are more or less ingrained in the sporting consciousness. A more fair judge of where a league stands is regular season TV ratings. As the old adage says you see who your friends are after the glitz and glamour are over. TV viewers are still used to showing up for the big spectacle be World Series or Stanley Cup. MLS while 24 yrs old is still the new kid on the block. Heck this is just the second yr MLS Cup has been on Primetime Broadcast cable since 2008. The true numbers are the diehards of each sport they carry each league and get the casuals to get engaged. MLS is doing a GREAT job at growing that die hard base while NHL/MLB are shrinking. It's been alarming what's happening with NHL they regular season TV numbers are declining rapidly, as a NHL fan the only real thing to hang our hat on is Stanley Cup Playoffs their is fear amongst the hockey/non soccer fans about MLS catching NHL. I don't think they have to worry about that just yet. NHL will have better Playoff numbers for at least another decade, I'm not so sure about regular season as NHL is in a free fall the past 3 yrs and are dropping closer to MLS TV ratings AS MLS TV ratings increase each yr. NHL is currently averaging 279k on NBCSN. The numbers are normally just north of 300k before the OTA NBC games help boost ratings to just north of 400k. I track MLS/NHL/EPL numbers as well. NHL EPL
http://worldsoccertalk.com/2018/12/...tlanta-triumph-over-portland/#comment-1922640 Those guys at World Soccer Talk can't help themselves always spinning
I would still draw a distinction between the NHL and MLB, though it might be declining over time. If there's a Stanley Cup Final featuring the Blackhawks, it might pull a phenomenal number like a 60 share in Chicago, while barely moving the needle in Philadelphia, which is actually a pretty good hockey market. Comparatively, MLB viewership is still broader, the breadth/depth ratio of the NHL's. (Or seemingly MLS's--if Atlanta has a metro area of 5+ million and a local rating over 11, out of 1.6 million viewers, then what fraction of the nation's English viewers from this game were from metro Atlanta, maybe a third? That's a lot.)
Looks like the Finals viewership number will be 1.8 million in the US UniMas averaged 193,000 down from the 304k it got on Unimas/UDN in 2017(credit@byIanThomas) The game went head to head with the Liga MX semi-final that averaged 1.5mil on Univision and Univision Deportes. Solid number hoperfully ABC airs the game next year. BTW apparently the Cup made it to Magic City in ATL the guys were partying it up with the strippers.
Well... yeah... when I was a Braves fan and they were no good at all, I'd watch the playoffs. But, when the Braves were good and got knocked out, it was too painful to watch the playoffs. It's all about generating history so that the population views the current playoffs as 'historic events' that are not to be missed. And, given the younger skew of the audience for soccer in the US, that time is coming.
I call it a Big 5 and have seen others in the media on twitter start to do so and recognize the new landscape. It's more about having a large set number of teams spread out in the US and being able to sustain them and have a following. The original interpretation of the BIG 4 were the 4 biggest US professional sports leagues, these leagues had a large number of teams spread through the country with large TV deals and revenue and people knew of the leagues. MLS didn't fit that description before. It has set itself apart from the other leagues trying to vy for legitimacy with TV money revenue/sponsorships close to 1 billion/ yr and far outpacing the WNBA-BIG3/NLL/ArenaFootball-XFL/etc. MLS was small time when it had 18-20 teams in the country the size of the USA. It now will be at 24 and soon to be 32 teams. More teams will cement its place in the BIG 5 There will always be some old timers/traditionalist that want and like things the way they are, BUT THINGS CHANGE.
Lol that Cup will need to be washed and disinfected, I think MLS Cup could get back on ABC in the late afternoon time frame. Before when they had it it came on at 1 or 2pm. I'm think 5-6pm est 2-3 pst would be optimal primetime is probably a no go. I was conversing with Kartik Krishnayer of WST on Twitter, he mentioned that the last 2008 MLS Cup on ABC had a bunch of things go wrong that soured ABC's interest in airing MLS Cup. I'm guess behind the scenes production issues/ad revenue. He also said it'd workout that ESPN would have to buy the time to air it on ABC if they think its worth it. Went on to say maybe now 10 yrs later they might think it is.
And then today ESPN does a study of food at "all professional sports stadiums in the U.S. and Canada" and yep. just includes the big 4's stadiums/arenas.
I know right its a slow grind but it was encouraging seeing places like Bleacher Report, CNN and Yahoo Sports and several other sports journalist on twitter recognize Atlanta United breaking the 23 yr title drought for the city. ESPN still have a lot of old blood mentality guys that aren't with the times besides knowing NFL/NBA are hip. Alot of their guys are old guard and still remember and wish the NHL was more prevalent those are the guys that MLS is fighting guys like John Buccisgross, John Anderson the ones that purposefully try to sound awkward when they do MLS or soccer highlights. They want their favorite sports to hold and maintain their place in the sporting landscape. Letting in another player like MLS disrupts that. Watch Sports Center closely and you'll see what I'm talking about. They're probably is the reality too with the media production chiefs at ESPN of somewhere along the lines that "well if we recognize there's a Big 5 then we'll have to contend with charges of bias/sexism against the WNBA"... the WNBA has already made a big hoopla over pay equality. Time ticks each year it's and inevitable that they'll either have to change how they call the Big leagues or just accept reality that there is a Big 5. Their really isn't a closer US Major Professional league in revenue or size below MLS, which has been reported to have close to a 1bil in yearly revenue that is the sharp cutoff line from Major to just about semi-pro leagues like WNBA/BIG3/NLL/XFL-Arena Football. MLS would be the poorest of the BIG 5 but it has more in line with NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL than it does with WNBA/BIG3/NLL/XFL-Arena Football.
in team sports that are professional. NASCAR does more than 1 billion in revenues, but they are not a team sport. College Football and Basketball also do over a billion in revenues, but they are not professional. The CFL is not in the USA (it has been in the distant past) and it also does not have over 1 billion in revenue. BTW MLS is still just under 1 billion this article would indicate around 750 million, Wikipedia has around 850 million per year. http://www.sportingintelligence.com...join-worlds-top-10-leagues-by-revenue-120601/
I've seen MLS included sometimes on things such as this before as well. It's becoming more consistent as well. The Forbes valuations are a good example. In reality, there is a clear hierarchy among the Big 4, (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL in that order) but MLS is starting to catch up a bit. In the US, everyone is used to a clear delineation between major and minor sports leagues, and MLS has somewhat blurred the line as it has grown. Note that major and minor have very little to do with being the best league in that sport. Major League Lacrosse is the best league in the world, but it is most definitely a minor league to most Americans.
Yeah, my issue with "Major League" is that it has no real definition. The term originated in baseball as an instrument of collusion--two leagues got together and agreed that they would rule baseball and that they would honor each others' contracts but nobody else's. The other leagues that agreed to this would be 'Minor Leagues' subject to having their players taken away at below-market transfer fees (and later they became wholly owned subsidiaries for player purposes), while the ones that objected were outlaws to be destroyed. This slipped over time through colloquial usage to mean 'major sports product.' That's a better term (with non-capitalization and the word 'product' indicating we're really talking about market size here). But it still implies a firm and easily verifiable dividing line separating the majors from the niche sports, and no such line really exists. In the golden age of Network TV I described a couple posts ago, the line was somewhat defensible--if you could get on Network, you were major, and if not, not. Today that doesn't make any sense, as Network's natural advantage has eroded greatly. MLS is still a niche interest in most of the US. There are markets where I would describe it as a relatively major product (the Pacific Northwest, Atlanta, Toronto) but they're in a bit of a minority. But even in the ones where the interest is relatively niche, MLS inches closer to each passing year to getting that acceptance from the media gatekeepers as being one of the main sports products in town. Where you can really see this is in the tone of coverage for expansion--almost nobody is asking whether MLS is 'good enough' for their town anymore, and most cities that are in the hunt for a team look at an MLS team coming to town as a boost to their city's image, This is a huge distance from where things stood 15 years ago.
It's actually a fairly even increment down each step, believe it or not, depending on the year and who has signed what TV deal. MLS is also pretty much the next step down that chain as well, but by that point, the top (NFL) is an order of magnitude larger than the bottom (MLS), so some people don't count it. It is, however, a big change from the MLS perspective, since it used to be orders of magnitude.