Soccer Viewership: AUG 21 - 27

Messi's appearance in the US Open Cup semi-final adds rocket fuel to the tournament's viewership.

Highlights, Lowlights:

• The non-big 6 PL matchup between West Ham and Brighton pulls close to 1m on the heels of an early morning College Football match in Ireland (Notre Dame v Navy).

• The US Open Cup posts 1m in what is certainly the best viewership number in the 100+ year history of the tournament. As with the Leagues Cup, this is all Messi providing the interest. Of course it is great exposure, but history has proven that it doesn't stick. 

• Liga MX returned to its normal schedule last week and so did Univision's number. It's difficult to take the temperature on how fans feel about the return of the league. I think US fans are happy about the Leagues Cup finally being over.

• MLS posts its first FOX game in a while, 320k and posting lows in each demo A18-49, A18-34, A25-54. Of course, Season Pass is peeling off younger viewership but the Premier League simulcasts on Peacock and their younger demo ratings remain comparable to Liga MX. Then there's also the US Open Cup demo ratings for the game on Telemundo and their younger demos are strong as well (in comparison to the older demos).

• So, I don't know exactly how many or who is watching MLS regular season games on Season Pass. I still don't see evidence of much interest in individual games. That said, with all the games kicking off around the same time (sans the FOX games) it is likely that Apple sells ads on the cumulative viewership in different windows. 

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US TV Viewership: AUG 21 - 27
	PREMIER LEAGUE
	LIGA MX (Mexican Soccer)
	MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Viewers (000)	Event/Game	Network	Date
1,006	US-OPEN-CUP-W-: CINCINNATI VS. MIAMI CF	TEL	8/23
960	NBC PREMIER LEAGUE: WEST HAM AT BRIGHTON	NBC	8/26
945	LIGA MX SAT: AMERICA VS LEON +T	UNI	8/26
820	LIGA MX WED: AMERICA VS NECAXA +T	UNI	8/23
735	LIGA MX PT SUN: UNAM VS TIGRES UANL +T	UNI	8/27
689	PREMIER LEAGUE L: LIVERPOOL/NEWCASTLE	USA	8/27
687	LIGA MX PT SUN 2: MONTERREY VS CRUZ AZUL	UNI	8/27
515	PREMIER LEAGUE L: FULHAM/ARSENAL	USA	8/26
473	LIGA MX EF SAT: ATLAS VS TOLUCA +T	UNI	8/26
467	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO:	USA	8/26
414	PREMIER LEAGUE L: MAN CITY/SHEFFIELD	USA	8/27
352	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO:	USA	8/27
350	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE:	USA	8/27
320	MLS SOCCER-SUN: MINNESOTA VS SEATTLE	FOX	8/27
313	PREMIER LEAGUE L: TOTTENHAM/BOURNEMOUTH	USA	8/26
311	LIGA MX SAT: AMERICA / LEON	TUDN	8/26
300	LIGA PREMIER: : NEWCASTLE V. LIVERPOOL	TEL	8/27
272	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO:	USA	8/26
220	LIGA MX PT SUN: UNAM / TIGRES	TUDN	8/27
174	LIGA MX: SANTOS VS GUADALAJARA	FOXD	8/26
169	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO:	USA	8/27
118	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO:	USA	8/26

 Sources: Nielsen Data via Sports Media Watch, Spoiler TV

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Note: My primary source for this data has changed from ShowBuzzDaily to a combination of Sports Media Watch and Spoiler TV. My weekly report was previously posted on Wednesday, but now will be on Thursday (or Friday if there is a holiday). Bear with me while I get my hands around providing this data. Thank you.