ESPN also broke another record this week. In its first year of televising Premier League games, ESPN Deportes achieved a 2.4 Hispanic rating for its live broadcast of Manchester United against Arsenal. That translates into an estimated 175,000 viewers, which is a record for the network.
And imgine if most of the games were shown at later hour in the US on ESPN2? The 2:55 (Est) on Saturdays/Sundays should have brought more viewers. However, that is wishful thinking since the ESPN/ESPN2 has other obligations, and the restriction on the contract itself with FOX. Will things change in the future? Who knows, but with a bullish trend for EPL, it might push ESPN to launch a soccer specific channel down the road, and the primary content distributor for EPL in the US market. We should see another 500+ viewership when Chelsea plays Arsenal on Dec 27th (Monday)...
It is wishful thinking because there's no Premier League matches at 2:55 on Saturday/Sunday. And ESPN already has a soccer specific channel called ESPN3.com. When I'm not in the Caribbean, that's where I watch ESPN's La Liga matches.
Well, that is why i called it wishful thinking... Based on the trends, EPL ratings should keep going higher in the US (especially for the big match-ups)...ESPN hasn't ruled out a soccer specific channel...It might not happen now, but there is a good chance that down the road (maybe 2-4 years from now), we could see that channel...ESPN3 is an alternative platform for viewing, not a primary destination...
I will bet you $10000 right now that there will not be an ESPN Soccer Specific Channel by Dec 31, 2014. Make that $20000.
John Skipper the VP of Content for ESPN said in an interview on World Football Daily back on August 5th at the 1 hour 38 minute mark that ESPN has no plans to start an all soccer channel stating they have plenty of capacity between ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Deportes, and ESPNU to air games. As much as I wish it's a bluff move on his part I think he speaks the truth especially with the growth of ESPN3 and more people dumping cable/satellite TV to watch programming on the internet.
Also it would be largely inconsistent with ESPN's usual practice, which is to have minimal game rebroadcasts or same day delays. ESPNU reairs the ESPN/2/ABC college football and basketball, but an all-soccer channel would have more since there is only so much soccer played on weekdays or primetime. To say nothing of how many leagues ESPN would consider viable from a business standpoint.
1. ESPN2 no longer airs "crap" EPL matches on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons. Only those EPL matches involving Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City make the cut (don't know yet about Tottenham.) The rest are buried on ESPN3.com and ESPN Deportes so that they don't drag down the average viewership on ESPN2. 2. The only "crap" EPL games that show up on ESPN2 are the handful of games on Saturdays at 7:45am ET during the first half of the season when BSkyB has to meet each team's TV quota.
ESPN was promoting the heck out of today's Everton-Manchester City broadcast over the weekend. Maybe because English soccer fans are a little starved for a game with all the postponements. Maybe because a lot of college students and a lot of adults will not have school/work today during the holiday break. Or maybe they are striking while the iron is hot with the good ratings news. Whatever it is.. I say keep it up!
At what point would streaming mo' other leagues makes sense for ESPN3? Right now, they also have Bundesliga, Serie A, Eredivisie and Sagria (Portugal) matches. When will they feel they can get France, Russia (again), etc?
I doubt they make money streaming anything (other than to mobile sets). I never see any pop-ads on 3 as I see on the pirated streams. You'd think they could insert ads on the archived matches at the very least.
The coverage of the EPL by ESPN has been brilliant if you ask me! Maca and Ian Darke do an excellent job. The only thing annoys me sometimes is when they switch the picture during the match. Still wish ESPN had the Champions league rights. I'm sure if they did their coverage would be better than Fox's.
FY1: No longer the most watched game... Chelsea vs. Arsenal DEC 27th match broke the record...Thanks.
One of the reasons EPL numbers are up and getting better is the routine inclusion of the games in ESPN's Cash4Streak contest (almost like sports betting but free). MLS games are listed as well but EPL is fortunate to have games on at times when no other sports games are usually on so they have the undivided attention of sports fans/streakers who normally don't watch or care about soccer. I don't know how much it affects the ratings but it helps at least somewhat I'm sure.
Isn't 600K a lot for a foreign soccer game that airs in the middle of a work day? Why isn't espn making a bigger deal out of this?
ESPN3 makes money by charging distributors an access fee. The consumer do not see the bill, but trust me they are paying for ESPN3 just like they are paying for OTA programming (remember fox and Dysney distri ution fees)
The QUANTITY of FOX's UEFA Champions League TV coverage in the U.S. has blown away what ESPN, Inc. used to offer: 1. Up to 5 games on FSC each match day. 2. ALL 8 games each match day available live for those with DirecTV, with English-language commentary from BSkyB. 3. Final on FOX free-to-air, with commentary from BSkyB: Martin Tyler and Andy Gray.
Yup, that's why ESPN3 doesn't give a piss whether the consumers can actually watch the shows (live in the middle of a working day with no replay).
I don't have FSC and majority of people across America don't. At least ESPN showed 4 games a per matchday. I'm lucky to get to see one and in rare cases 2. The only thing I like better about Fox's coverage is the pre-game show. Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth were my favorite commentators. I thought the other guys were ok not better than Tyler/Gray.
There's no doubt that an overwhelming majority of people across America don't have FSC. There's also no doubt that pretty much all of those couple hundred million people in that majority couldn't give a rat's ass about the Champions League. But you apparently do, so there's really no excuse for you not to subscribe to FSC. In fact, I find it hard to believe that, as someone who's enough of a fan of Madrid as your username implies, you don't already have a package that includes GolTV and FSC. Not to mention ESPN Deportes. How do you even watch Madrid? Seriously. On ESPN2 once a month? Online? Do you get GolTV and ESPN Deportes but not FSC? You should be tickled pink that you have the ability to watch every Madrid game live in this country. Just several years ago, you would have been able to see jack shit, even though ESPN and all of their brilliance had the rights for all of their matches (La Liga and CL) in the US. So, shell out a few extra clams and subscribe to FSC. It'll cost you the same per month as a few measly beers at a local dive bar. It'll cost you far less per month than the price of just one nosebleed ticket to actually see Madrid live. Don't be so damn cheap.
Or if you defer your viewing almost all Madrid (And Barca) matches show up here in HD http://regmo.blogspot.com/