Great news, @Bundesliga_EN fans! @BVB vs @FCBayernEN will air LIVE on @FXNetworks tomorrow! #DerKlassiker #BVBFCB pic.twitter.com/oioW0xKMIo— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 4, 2016
Today was amazingly stupid. Yes, I am glad the biggest game of the whole Bundesliga season was made available to more people...but putting it on a channel where NOBODY WOULD BE LOOKING FOR IT is a recipe for low ratings. Not only that, they waited until the last minute to do this, which meant that it wasn't on some people's program guides or newspaper TV listings. The Chicago Tribune sports section almost always lists the FS2 Bundesliga games on TV (despite the fact that most people in the metro area are with Comcast which means we can't see FS2 at any price!) but today's game was not listed. If only there was a thought process going on at Fox concerning this league. Then again, these are the same people who didn't realize that there might be a downside to giving this league like one minute per week for YEARS when they had the only studio show for American viewers.
My own fault, but I DVRed whatever was on FXX today instead of FX. I read here that the program guides were not updated so I didn't worry about recording "Footloose" at 1:30. When I go back to watch it, it actually IS Footloose! I googled around and realized they have two channels. Like the above post mentions, it was hard to find on such a non-sports or minor channel. I had never even heard of FX or FXX until I saw SA's listing. At least when NBC plays overflow EPL games on air, they use more prominent stations like USA or CNBC. Luckily, I have my DVR set for the FS1 replay on Sunday night of the match, but you know it will have the dreaded ticker which will probably show the score.
To me FX and USA are at the same level of recognition and are actually next to each other on my cable tv. Not sure where else Fox could have put it for better distribution.
They could have recognized that this was probably the biggest game of the season and considered a way allow more than a few people to see it, THEN promoted the fact for more than 24 hours.
The move to FX was last minute. I bet the match would have stayed on Fox Soccer Plus had Fox not had to deal with social media complaints of them treating one of the world's biggest derbies like an afterthought.
Der Klassiker on @FXNetworks -Dortmund v Bayern Munich- drew 192K viewers; is most-watched @Bundesliga_EN match ever on US English cable TV.— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) March 8, 2016
As a soccer fan, I fail to understand how this match drew so few viewers, compared to other matches, especially from the Premiere League. It was clear even before kick-off that this would be the best match, the highest quality not just on this Saturday. If there had been an MLS or Liga MX match at the same time, I would have understood that people prefered to watch that. But Watford v Leicester? The cultural bias towards the English League seems to be insurmountable.
The Bundesliga pregame on FX Saturday from noon-12:32p ET outdrew the game itself (249K vs 192K)— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) March 8, 2016
Is this an ironic comment? Leicester are league leaders and the result of that game had implications for the "bigger" clubs following them in the table. Of course, Bayern-Dortmund was a top of the table clash with huge European clubs, so your point that English football has a foothold among American viewership is valid. However, the fact that you could understand an MLS match drawing viewers but not a vital match for the Premiership title is ridiculous (unless you're making a subtle joke about Leicester's surprising season.)
There's many reasons why the Premiere league matches get more hype and ratings. Some of it does have to do with the English Bias, but NBC does a much better job at promoting their games,producing their games, and evaluating their games with professionalism,. They also are established and people know a lot more about NBC. I know a bunch of people (soccer fans) who don't even know that FOX has the rights to German soccer. Those same people know that the Premiere League is on NBC and/or Telemundo. And I think a website like Bigsoccer also can show you why the English Premiere League is more popular. Go to the Premiere League section and you see many forums for many teams with fans talking about their clubs. In the German section it is not as frequented Other than maybe two or three Club threads.
EPL has become an established brand in the U.S., so it's easy to market to casual fans. Even those who don't follow soccer likely know who Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are. The Bundesliga is still a niche entity in the U.S. and many corners of the world outside Germany. We knew Fox would have to go all out in promoting/marketing the league in a saturated marketplace where most soccer consumers already have loyalties to a Liga MX, EPL, MLS or La Liga club. Unfortunately, Fox hasn't done the league any favors by bumping matches to FS2 and Fox Soccer Plus, while making viewers pay extra to catch the non-televised matches.
I fail to see the irony. My point is that as a fan of soccer, I would always try to watch the best soccer on offer. I can understand that the viewer's loyalty towards his nation's league, in the US the MLS or, for viewers with Mexican ancestry or socialization, Liga MX, might surpass foreign leagues. I understand that there is generally more interest in English Football than in the Bundesliga, both leagues are nearly equal in quality, but there are strong cultural ties to England, the Premier League has more exposure in the media, the bigger tradition in the US etc. But due to the vast difference in quality between a match featuring Bayern and Dortmund or Leicester and Watford, more people would tune in to Dortmund v Bayern if the quality of soccer was a factor. It does not bode well for the chances of the Bundesliga in the US. I am not American, btw, so this is perhaps more me realizing something that might be painfully obvious to an American. I am not making a dig at Leicester, I admire their achievement. However, you can hardly say that Bayern v Dortmund had less relevancy for the title race than the Leicester game.
Along with the quality on the playing field is the atmosphere of the stadium. The combination of these is what makes the Bundesliga and Copa Libertadores appealing to me.
How it is at all surprising that a game at the center of the title race in England will get a much higher rating than the Bundesliga is beyond me. Premier League games draw far higher viewership than even MLS games. And, no, despite being a top of the table clash, Bayern-Dortmund was not as relevant to the Bundesliga title than the Leicester game was to England. There was only one result in the Bundesliga game that was going to make the Bundesliga race at all relevant, and that result was very unlikely to occur (no disrespect to Dortmund who are one of Europe's top-7 teams IMO). Any dropping of points would make the Premiership race a 2-3 point affair. Plus Leicester dropping 5 points is far, far more likely than Bayern dropping two. Additionally, even assuming that Dortmund were in the Bundesliga title race, only two teams were. In England, fans of very well-followed teams (Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City) believe they are still in the title race, so all of those supporters were following the Leicester match. And I say all of the above knowing that Bayern and Dortmund are far better than any teams in England. Then again, the same could be said of Atlético-Villarreal, which would also be exceeded in ratings (in English) by any Premier League game. At the same time, quality doesn't guarantee a better game. I saw both games (had them split screen), and the premier league game was the more exciting one (which isn't to say that it couldn't have been the other way around). Your ultimate point is valid. West Brom-Watford (probably what you were thinking of when you made your original comment, not knowing that Leicester were premier league leaders), two mid table sides with nothing to play for, would out-rate any Bundesliga game. Probably even if Bayern and Dortmund were tied in the table. The Premier League has established a foothold in the USA. People have picked their clubs. There is a vibrant supporter culture. People can also immerse themselves in interviews, videos, read local English newspapers about the game, etc because there is no language barrier. It's the same reason La Liga is so popular in all of Latin America and among Hispanics in the United States. (Besides the fact La Liga has the best teams -- UEFA coefficient 20+ points better than England or Germany). Further evidence of this is today, with Fox putting Reading-Crystal Palace (FA Cup) on Fox Soccer 2 while Bundesliga Hertha Berlin-Schalke is relegated to Fox Soccer Plus (even with John Brooks, although Danny Williams plays for Reading). (Although even this was a closer call than Leicester-xxxx in the premier league than Dortmund v Bayern would be).
Canada - Bundesliga TV Schedule - Week #26 Friday, March 11 - Sunday, March 13. Friday, March 11 - 2:30 pm ET - Hertha Berlin vs FC Schalke - Sportsnet World NOW. Saturday, March 12 - 9:30 am ET - Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt - Sportsnet World. 9:30 am ET - Hannover vs FC Köln - Sportsnet World NOW. 9:30 am ET - TSG Hoffenheim vs VFL Wolfsburg - Sportsnet World NOW. 9:30 am ET - FC Ingolstadt vs VfB Stuttgart - Sportsnet World NOW. 9:30 am ET - SV Darmstadt vs FC Augsburg - Sportsnet World NOW. 12:30 pm ET - Bayern Munich vs SV Werder Bremen - Sportsnet World NOW. Sunday, March 13 - 10:30 am ET - Bayer Leverkusen vs Hamburg SV - Sportsnet World NOW. 12:30 pm ET - Borussia Dortmund vs FSV Mainz - Sportsnet World NOW. You can also watch the matches that are on Sportsnet - Sportsnet One - Sportsnet World - ONLINE via Sportsnet World NOW.
United States - Bundesliga TV Schedule - Week #26 Friday, March 11 - Sunday, March 13. Friday, March 11 - 2:30 pm ET - Hertha Berlin vs FC Schalke - Fox Sports Plus. Saturday, March 12 - 9:30 am ET - Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt - Fox Sports 2. 9:30 am ET - TSG Hoffenheim vs VFL Wolfsburg - Fox Sports Plus. 9:30 am ET - Hannover vs FC Köln - Fox Sports 2 Go. 9:30 am ET - FC Ingolstadt vs VfB Stuttgart - Fox Sports 2 Go. 9:30 am ET - SV Darmstadt vs FC Augsburg - Fox Sports 2 Go. 12:30 pm ET - Bayern Munich vs SV Werder Bremen - Fox Sports Plus. Sunday, March 13 - 10:30 am ET - Bayer Leverkusen vs Hamburg SV - Fox Sports 2. 12:30 pm ET - Borussia Dortmund vs FSV Mainz - Fox Sports 2.
Just saw a promo for Frankfurt- Hannover on FOX, Saturday. Why they chose that match for the FOX affiliates I have no idea. Maybe they expect a bunch of Timmy Chandler fans to tune in? Edit* Mexican Marco Fabian is on Fankfurt. Makes a little more sense now
That was probably the only game available in the 01:30pm slot. I suppose they could have gone with a match at 10:30, but I don't think the affiliates like to give up that window. Either way, NCAA tourney on CBS will pull most of the viewers.
Fox won't have soccer competition from NBC at that time. Instead of a game on Saturday, NBC is showing Manchester City-Manchester United on Sunday at 12:00 P.M. The last Saturday Premier League game will be on NBCSN.