Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Soccer Viewership: JUN 21-27

MLS tops the week with two broadcast games on an otherwise light week.

Highlights/Lowlights:

• MLS used up another two broadcast games to somewhat mediocre results. Pulling the same numbers for the last 8 years highlights the reason MLS did not get an offer from ESPN.

• The USL jumps on the list for the second week in a row with 142k on ESPN. The number itself isn't the most important thing about this. The league proving that it can stay within range of MLS is as they are seeking a new TV deal.

• YOY MLS is down -26% on ESPN, -11% on FS1

• The spotlight moves away from domestic leagues on US TV as Liga MX starts back up July 1st.

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US TV Viewership: Soccer Programs June 21-27
Viewers (000)Event/GameNetworkDate
460MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: LAFC VS NYRBABC6/25
427MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: SEATTLE VS SKCABC6/25
259WOMENS INTL FRIENDLY L: USA/COLOMBIAFS16/25
215CONCACAF U20 – L: MEXICO / HAITITUDN6/23
211MLS REGULAR SEASON  DC V NASHVILLEESPN6/25
209BALON DE ORO 2022 6/26: BALON DE OROTUDN6/26
185PARTIDO AMISTOSO L: AMERICA / LEONTUDN6/22
171CONCACAF U20 L: TRINIDAD Y TOBAGO/MEXICOTUDN6/21
142UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE: HARTFORD/LOUISVILLEESPN6/25
133MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER L: PHILA/NYCFCFS16/26
132CONCACAF U20 – L: GUATEMALA / PANAMATUDN6/21
132CONCACAF U20 – L: PANAMA / EL SALVADORTUDN6/23
125FUTBOL CENTRAL PT SUNTUDN6/26
111CONCACAF U20 – L: USA / CUBATUDN6/22
70FUTBOL CENTRAL LTUDN6/21
66FUTBOL CENTRAL LTUDN6/22

sources: showbuzzdaily, spoilertv, helltown

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Leaderboards for Eng-lang viewership YTD. Pay-TV includes live streaming services such as YouTubeTV and Hulu.

000sProgram - Broadcast#000sProgram - Pay TV#
964UEFA Champions League14
874Premier League10
869World Cup Qualifier - C3
581USMNT2
484FA Women's Super League1
480MLS - ABC6
438USWNT1
437MLS - FOX4
434Bundesliga1
423Premier League - Match81
409NWSL4
396La Liga1
394CONCACAF Nations League1
292World Cup Qualifier - UEFA4
266Bundesliga1
231EPL - Studio110
229MLS - ESPN14
213USWNT3
195World Cup Qualifier - Playoff1
170USL2
168General Soccer9
164UEFA Nations League16
164MLS - FS114
155Concacaf Champions League7
118FIFA Club World Cup1
37Ligue 11

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Saturday, June 25, 2022

Snapshot: F1 / MLS on ESPN '22

Formula 1 signed a new TV Deal with ESPN for a reported $75-90 million, which is right around the same figure ESPN signed MLS to in 2014. Interestingly, F1 was offered more by Amazon, which had ideas on sublicensing rights to linear networks (similar to Apple with MLS), but it was turned down.

The table below shows viewership for F1 and MLS on ESPN from January 1 - June 20, 2022 (more or less YTD).

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000sEventDetails
1,445F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
1,396F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: MONACO GRAND PRIX
1,353F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
1,003F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
964F1 - QualifyingFORMULA 1 QUALIFYING L
953F1 - QualifyingFORMULA 1 QUALIFYING L
832F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
583F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
568F1 - RaceFORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX L: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
553F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
382MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: ATLANTA/NEW ENGLAND
350F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
346F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
318MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: MIAMI/ATLANTA
275MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: SEATTLE SOUNDERS/MINNESOTA UNITED FC
252MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: INTER MIAMI/NEW ENGLAND
245MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: PORTLAND/ORLANDO
240MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: NASHVILLE SC/PHILDELPHIA UNION
218F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
208F1 - StudioFORMULA 1 SURROUND L
206MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: LAFC/SPORTING KANSAS CITY
197MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: CHICAGO V MIN
192MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: ORLANDO/NEW YORK RED BULLS
191MLSSOCCER MLS PRE-GAME STUDIO L
190MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L
154MLSMLS REGULAR SEASON L: AUSTIN/INTER MIAMI
153MLSMLS REG SEASON PRELUDE L

source: showbuzzdaily

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The general observation here is that each F1 Race pulls a "MLS Cup Final" number. Outside of that event, MLS viewership swims down around 300-400k on ESPN with highs rarely reaching over 500k and certainly never over one million (outside of the cup final).  

I don't know how many races are left for ESPN to air this year, but the F1 season continues on through the fall.

Flipping through MLS figures over the years, I would expect that an MLS deal on ESPN would be worth less than a quarter of F1's new deal ($15-20m or so) had ESPN made a bid for their rights.

As it stands, ESPN (and all other linear networks, for that matter) is set to drop MLS altogether in 2023.

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Soccer Viewership: JUN 14-20

Soccer in the region makes way for the USMNT and El Tri last week.

Highlights/Lowlights:

• Univision tops the table with an El Tri / USA double-header on June 14th. Both jump up over 1m.

• FS1's coverage of the USMNT match vs El Salvador pulls a tepid 394k.

• The NWSL had a late Sunday afternoon match that slipped below 400k. You'll see at the bottom of this post that they do hang in with most domestic soccer leagues in the US, but I think they would like that number to stay over 400k, which it is still (409k average).

• The 541k for MLS on ABC is a good number for the league. It brings their YOY avg on ABC up slightly. 

• A disappointing 88k for a midwestern battle on FS1 drags MLS's avg on that network down -10% YOY. It is the lowest number on they year for FS1 and MLS.

• 146k for MLS on ESPN2 marks the 1st time they have been on 2 this year. It's hard to pull a good number on ESPN2 these days.

• ESPN was scheduled to carry a Saturday MLS game but it was bumped to the ESPN App then ESPNEWS for nearly the entirety of the 1st half (LA v Portland). The line over at ShowBuzzDaily has it for only 2 minutes (normal is ~150 min measurement for MLS) which makes it an Exception (it was also not listed on ShowBuzz's "SKEDBALL" weekly report). Similar to rainouts, which MLS had a couple weeks ago that created a low number for the league. Neither will be recorded in my summary figures.

• Finally, the USL had a match on "big" ESPN and delivered nearly 200k. It's a good starting point for the league. They have a chance to solidify themselves as a like-for-like MLS replacement going forward with another match this weekend. A similar number will go a long way for the league.

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US TV Viewership: Soccer Programs June 14-20
Viewers (000)Event/GameNetworkDate
1,395CONCACAF NATIONS LG: JAMAICA V MEXICOUNI6/14
1,233CONCACAF NATIONS LG: EL SALVADOR V USAUNI6/14
541MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: SEATTLE V LAFCABC6/18
394CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE L: SALVADOR/USAFS16/14
349NWSL: SAN DIEGO FC V NY/NJCBS6/19
313CONCACAF NATION LG 1 6/14: JAMAICA/MEXICOTUDN6/14
308CONCACAF NATION LG 2 6/14: EL SALVADOR/USATUDN6/14
215UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE L: GERMANY/ITALYFS16/14
197UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE  L: DETROIT/EL PASOESPN6/18
146MLS REGULAR SEASON: ATLANTA/MIAMIESPN26/19
132CONCACAF NATIONS PRE LFS16/14
123CONCACAF U20 – L: MEXICO / SURINAMTUDN6/19
123CONCACAF U20 – L: CANADA / USATUDN6/20
96CONCACAF U20 – L: EL SALVADOR / GUATEMALATUDN6/19
88MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER L: NASHVILLE/SKCFS16/19
81CONCACAF U20 – L: PANAMA / ARUBATUDN6/19
80FIFA 26 WC VENUE LFS16/16
68INTL SOCCER FRIENDLY   LESPND6/15
63FUTBOL CENTRAL LTUDN6/19
62MLS REGULAR SEASON: LA GALAXY/PORTLANDESPND6/18
57FUTBOL CLUB LTUDN6/16
57UEFA MEN U19 L: INGLATERRA / AUSTRIATUDN6/19
53MLS REGULAR SEASON    LESPND6/19
52FUT AMISTOSO MEX: MONTERREY VS SANTOSFOXD6/18
48CONCACAF U20: ANTIGUA BARBUDA/COSTA RICATUDN6/20
43MLS REGULAR SEASON    L: SEATTLE/LAFCESPND6/18

sources: showbuzzdaily, spoilertv, helltown

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Leaderboards for Eng-lang viewership YTD. Pay-TV includes live streaming services such as YouTubeTV and Hulu.

We have movement in the table this week to mention (thick lines). MLS jumps the FA Women's Super League by 14k and the USL joins the party for the first time, sandwiched between MLS on ESPN and the USWNT. Finally, the NWSL on broadcast slips below the Prem on USA Network.

000sProgram - Broadcast#000sProgram - Pay TV#
964UEFA Champions League14
874Premier League - Match10
869World Cup Q - Concacaf3
581USMNT - Friendly2
498MLS - ABC8
484FA Women's Super League1
438USWNT4
437MLS - FOX4
434Bundesliga1
423Premier League - Match81
409NWSL4
396La Liga1
394CONCACAF Nations Lg1
292World Cup Qualifier - UEFA4
266Bundesliga1
231EPL - Studio110
230MLS - ESPN13
197United Soccer League1
190USWNT2
168General Soccer9
166MLS - FS113
164UEFA Nations League16
155Concacaf Champions League7
118FIFA Club World Cup1
37Ligue 11

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