The CONCACAF Champions League continued this week and brought in some of the top cable viewership numbers for MLS teams since the June restart. Two of them, LAFC vs Cruz Azul and Atlanta United vs Club America, landed in the top five, narrowly missing the top spot.
TUDN is in about half the homes in the United States as ESPN and FS1.
In hindsight, the strong numbers seem obvious. Don Garber knows that these teams draw interest to MLS, thus the reason for the "Leagues Cup." Unfortunately, Garber doesn't understand that too much, is too much. As long as there is another competition, his friendly cup will always be just an exhibition.
These Liga MX teams have large, devoted followings and two of the MLS teams are recent expansion and are in large metro areas. But, mildly surprising, none-the-less as CCL games normally draw very little interest.
LAFC was the only MLS team to advance to the semi-finals. They take on Club America tomorrow night.
| US Cable Soccer programs: MLS since restart + CCL Viewership |
| | | |
| Viewers (000) | Event/Game | Network | Date |
| 478 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: PHIL/NEW ENGLAND | ESPN | 24-Nov-20 |
| 464 | MLS REGULAR SEASON L: ORLANDO/MIAMI | ESPN | 8-Jul-20 |
| 459 | CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: LAFC / CRUZ AZUL | TUDN | 16-Dec-20 |
| 457 | MLS REGULAR SEASON L: SEATTLE/LAFC | ESPN | 24-Nov-20 |
| 373 | CONCACAF CHAMPIONS: ATL / CLUB AMERICA | TUDN | 16-Dec-20 |
| 365 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: PORTLAND/ORLANDO | ESPN | 11-Aug-20 |
| 333 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: KANSAS CITY/MINN | ESPN | 12-Jul-20 |
| 326 | MLS PLAYOFFS L: CONF FINAL: SEA/MINNESOTA | FS1 | 7-Dec-20 |
| 321 | MLS PLAYOFFS L: CONF SEMI: SEATTLE/DALLAS | FS1 | 1-Dec-20 |
| 319 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: SEATTLE/SAN JOSE | ESPN | 10-Jul-20 |
| 296 | MLS REGULAR SEASON L: LAFC/LA GALAXY | ESPN | 18-Jul-20 |
| 284 | MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT R16: SEATTLE/LAFC | FS1 | 27-Jul-20 |
| 266 | MLS REGULAR SEASON L: PORTLAND/HOUSTON | ESPN | 18-Jul-20 |
| 248 | CONCACAF CHAMPIONS: TIGRES UANL / NYCFC | TUDN | 15-Dec-20 |
| 242 | MLS PLAYOFFS: MINNESOTA/COL | ESPN | 22-Nov-20 |
| 240 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: COLUMBUS/MINNESOTA | ESPN | 28-Jul-20 |
| 240 | MLS PLAYOFFS L: ROUND1: TORONTO/NASHVILLE | FS1 | Nov 24, 20 |
| 238 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: PHIL/KANSAS CITY | ESPN | Jul 30, 20 |
| 237 | MLS REGULAR SEASON: PHIL/ORLANDO | ESPN | Jul 20, 20 |
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