US Cable Soccer Viewership, Dec 15-21

The Premier League marches on, while the CONCACAF Champions League wraps up with strong viewership numbers (more info below the main table).

Notable this week are the La Liga matches on BEIN Sport Espanol. It is only in around 20 million homes (compare: TUDN 40m, ESPN 90m), so impressive numbers.

US Cable Soccer programs: December 15 - 21
Viewers (000)	Event/Game	Network	Date
579	PREMIER LEAGUE L: LEEDS/MAN UNITED	NBCSN	20-Dec-20
555	CONCACAF CHA LG20 2 12/19: LAFC VS AMERICA	TUDN	19-Dec-20
514	PREMIER LEAGUE L: TOTTENHAM/LIVERPOOL	NBCSN	16-Dec-20
511	PREMIER LEAGUE L: MAN CITY/SOUTHAMPTON	NBCSN	19-Dec-20
459	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: LAFC / CRUZ AZUL	TUDN	16-Dec-20
449	PREMIER LEAGUE L: LEICESTER/TOTTENHAM	NBCSN	20-Dec-20
373	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: ATL/CLUB AMERICA	TUDN	16-Dec-20
370	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO	NBCSN	19-Dec-20
358	FUTBOL CENTRAL L	TUDN	16-Dec-20
344	PREMIER LEAGUE L: WEST BROM/MAN CITY	NBCSN	15-Dec-20
322	PREMIER LEAGUE L: WEST HAM/CHELSEA	NBCSN	21-Dec-20
312	PREMIER LEAGUE L: MAN UNITED/SHEFFIELD	NBCSN	17-Dec-20
305	PREMIER LEAGUE L: CHELSEA/WOLVES	NBCSN	15-Dec-20
300	FUTBOL CENTRAL PT SAT	TUDN	19-Dec-20
297	PREMIER LEAGUE L: LIVERPOOL/CRYSTAL PALACE	NBCSN	19-Dec-20
292	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO	NBCSN	19-Dec-20
249	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO	NBCSN	Dec 20, 20
248	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: TIGRES/ NYCFC	TUDN	Dec 15, 20
241	PREMIER LEAGUE L: SOUTHAMPTON/ARSENAL	NBCSN	Dec 16, 20
216	PREMIER LEAGUE L: ASTON VILLA/WEST BROM	NBCSN	Dec 20, 20
211	PREMIER LEAGUE L: BURNLEY/ASTON VILLA	NBCSN	Dec 17, 20
190	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO	NBCSN	Dec 21, 20
181	PREMIER LEAGUE L: WOLVES/BURNLEY	NBCSN	Dec 21, 20
178	FUTBOL CENTRAL L	TUDN	Dec 15, 20
142	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	Dec 15, 20
139	LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L: EIBAR/REAL MADRID	BEIN ESP	Dec 20, 20
136	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	Dec 16, 20
135	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: OLIMPIA / MONTREAL	TUDN	Dec 15, 20
125	LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L: BARCA/VALENCIA	BEIN ESP	Dec 19, 20
121	LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L: BARCA/SOCIEDAD	BEIN ESP	Dec 16, 20
119	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	Dec 17, 20
112	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	Dec 21, 20
104	LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L: REAL/ATHLETIC	BEIN ESP	Dec 15, 20
87	CONCACAF CHAMP LEAGUE: SEMI:LAFC/AMERICA	FS2	Dec 19, 20
70	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	Dec 20, 20

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CONCACAF Champions League viewership numbers are a surprise to me because when I was tracking numbers back in 2013-16 they were not that impressive. perhaps it is the inclusion of LAFC and Atlanta United that lifted the numbers. We'll see in 2021 how things look without them.

The tournament's TV numbers compared to ALL MLS in 2020, top 10 games. 

US Cable Soccer programs: Top 10, MLS + CONCACAF CHAMPS LEAGUE
Viewers (000)	Event/Game	Network	Date
576	CONCACAF CHAMPS:AMERICA/COMINICACIONES	TUDN	26-Feb-20
555	CONCACAF CHA LG20 2 12/19: LAFC VS AMERICA	TUDN	19-Dec-20
544	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: AMERICA/ATLANTA	TUDN	11-Mar-20
478	MLS REGULAR SEASON: PHIL/NEW ENGLAND	ESPN	24-Nov-20
464	MLS REGULAR SEASON L: ORLANDO/MIAMI	ESPN	8-Jul-20
463	MLS REGULAR SEASON      L: LAFC/MIAMI	ESPN	1-Mar-20
459	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: LAFC / CRUZ AZUL	TUDN	16-Dec-20
457	MLS REGULAR SEASON      L: SEATTLE/LAFC	ESPN	24-Nov-20
441	CONCACAF CHAMPIONS L: LAFC / LEON	TUDN	27-Feb-20
436	CONCACAF CHAMPS: COMUNICACIONES/AMERICA	TUDN	19-Feb-20

2020 US Cable Viewership Averages, by Tournament/League

Since we are only 12 days away from the end of calendar year 2020, here are the viewership averages for soccer matches by tournament/league on cable television in the United States.

Figures in viewership (Average, Median) are in 000's. 

I'll have a few important housekeeping notes under the table.

League/Event	Average	Median	Count
USMNT	343	323	4
CONCACAF Champs League	336	353	16
English Premier League	326	308	158
USWNT	280	307	7
LigaMX	239	193	222
UEFA Champions League	222	197	47
FA Cup	216	206	4
Mexican NT	191	176	11
MLS	179	156	92
Copa por Mexico	155	153	6
UEFA Super Cup	152	152	1
Bundesliga	151	125	39
UEFA Nations League	138	138	20
Copa MX	132	120	12
Soccer Friendly	124	124	1
UEFA Europa League	121	83	9
La Liga	110	95	19
Serie A	99	90	23
LigaMX - Women	97	102	3
Women's Super League	89	90	3
International Friendly	68	68	1
Ligue 1	67	67	1

• These are games only, no studio shows.
• Sorted by Average Viewership
• Games not falling in the top 150 cable shows on the day they aired are not included (it is very few).
• This looks at games across all cable networks. ESPN has the largest net, something like 90 million homes. It carries MLS, FA Cup, USMNT for example. TUDN, which carries almost all Liga MX games, is only in about 45 million homes.
• REMINDER: These is games on United States cable only. No traditional broadcast figures (ABC, NBC, FOX) are included. Those numbers live in their own universe. 
• Streaming numbers for sports are not significant enough to move these numbers much as a %.

Strong CCL TV Numbers

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

US Cable Soccer Viewership, Dec 8-14

Liga MX and the Premier league own the cable viewership list this week. MLS finished up its season over on traditional broadcast TV with a Cup Final of 1.07m viewers. Over on NBC (same day, just earlier), the EPL matchup between Manchester City and Manchester United pulled in 973k.

Meanwhile, the clubhouse leader was the Liga MX final series between Leon and Pumas UNAM. It averaged 2.43 million viewers on Univision.

MLS will be happy with the way it finished the Playoffs and Cup Final. Two games on traditional TV with close to a million viewers mark a couple highs for them. I think it has to do with the efficiency with which the playoffs were played due to Covid-19. 

Usually, MLS gets lost in the trees a bit trying to finish the season. It takes a couple months and there can be a couple weeks between rounds due to international break and the league insists on playing home/home two-game ties in order to pull an extra gate.

Single elimination, with short spells between games, worked for MLS. It'll be interesting if they do something similar next year or stick with the lazy format they usually use.

US Cable Soccer programs, Dec 8-14
Viewers (000)	Event/Game	Network	Date
809	LIGA MX PT SUN: LEON VS. PUMAS UNAM	TUDN	13-Dec-20
514	PREMIER LEAGUE L: LIVERPOOL/FULHAM	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
497	LIGA MX THU: FINAL: UNAM VS. LEON	TUDN	10-Dec-20
388	UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: BARCA VS. JUVE	TUDN	8-Dec-20
330	PREMIER LEAGUE L: BURNLEY/ARSENAL	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
327	PREMIER LEAGUE L: TOTTENHAM/PALACE	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
248	FUTBOL CENTRAL PT SUN	TUDN	13-Dec-20
246	PREMIER LG LIVE STUDIO	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
186	UEFA CHAMP LEAGUE: REAL MADVS. BORUSSIA	TUDN	9-Dec-20
174	PREMIER LEAGUE L: WEST HAM/LEEDS	NBCSN	11-Dec-20
161	FUTBOL CENTRAL THU	TUDN	10-Dec-20
155	PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL ZONE	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
135	LINEA DE CUATRO L	TUDN	13-Dec-20
127	PREMIER LEAGUE L: SHEFFIELD/SOUTHAMPTON	NBCSN	13-Dec-20
118	LIGA MX FEMENIL: TIGRES UANL / MONTERREY	TUDN	14-Dec-20
62	LINEA DE CUATRO	TUDN	8-Dec-20

Just a quick note on why I only track cable - It's the proverbial apples to apples for the most part. "Traditional TV" is just what it means. ABC, CBS, FOX over-the-air channels. Viewership on those stations is much higher due to them being in many (many) more homes. Differences in subscribers do exist in cable land (TUDN has about half the subscribers of ESPN) but for the most part, it's a place where fans seek out what they want to watch.

Crew Win MLS Cup, Zelarayán Dominant

A fitting sendoff for Crew Stadium as the Columbus Crew win the 25th MLS Cup over the Seattle Sounders last Saturday. Lucas Zelarayan played a big role in the win, scoring 2 goals and creating 4 clear chances for teammates (one lead to a goal).

It was a solid team performance from a group that seemed to grow together as a team as this COVID season marched on. Caleb Porter deserves a ton of credit for guiding this team through this strange season.

His experience managing winning sides proved invaluable.

There were early signs this team was good. From the MLS Bubble to the time the team spent at the top of the table early in the season. It was clear that this team had the talent. The key to winning the MLS Cup came towards the end of the season - Porter seemed to sacrifice a chance at winning the Supporters' Shield in order to get key players ample time to recover. Porter didn't seem to mind a drop off in results. It was clear that MLS Cup was the goal, and it paid off.

Congratulations to the Columbus Crew.

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Zelarayan and Aidan Morris were key in this match. Here are a couple things on them from earlier in the season -

August 2020: Zelarayán's Early Success Shows Healthy Crew Environment

October 2020: Aidan Morris, Defensive Energy

Pedro Santos, Darlington Nagbe OUT

The Crew announced yesterday that both Pedro Santos and Darlington Nagbe are out of the MLS Cup Final tomorrow. The way it is written is confusing. "Medically not cleared to play," is the official statement for the two players, yet it does not specifically tie them to the positive Covid test that was also reported on the same day.

We can assume that the positive test is at least one of the players. Santos, I guess. Nagbe did take a cheap shot by a New England player early last match, so maybe he's hurt? Who knows. 

I'm guessing that the league is purposefully being obtuse in order to make sure the game is played.

Seattle is now favored +130 to the Crew's +220. 

Columbus had the edge before yesterday.