Most-watched live soccer games on US TV for weekend of April 22-25, 2016
It was a more interesting weekend than usual in terms of soccer TV ratings as the FA Cup returned to the airwaves as Everton-Manchester United and Crystal Palace-Watford battled to try to win their way to the final. Unfortunately for most viewers, the games were pushed to FOX Sports 2, so the lackluster TV ratings were either (1) a reflection of the declining interest in the FA Cup, (2) the continued poor ratings on FOX Sports 2 or (3) a combination of both factors. FA Cup aside, Leicester continues to score impressive TV ratings as the club’s game against Swansea
It was a more interesting weekend than usual in terms of soccer TV ratings as the FA Cup returned to the airwaves as Everton-Manchester United and Crystal Palace-Watford battled to try to win their way to the final. Unfortunately for most viewers, the games were pushed to FOX Sports 2, so the lackluster TV ratings were either (1) a reflection of the declining interest in the FA Cup, (2) the continued poor ratings on FOX Sports 2 or (3) a combination of both factors.
FA Cup aside, Leicester continues to score impressive TV ratings as the club’s game against Swansea was the most-watched English-language soccer game during the weekend. Meanwhile, La Liga’s trio of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid scored impressive numbers, while the ever-consistent Liga MX pulled in the big numbers yet again.
At the opposite end of the most-watched games, this past weekend’s numbers show how few people are watching Serie A on US television. Even the scudetto-winning match between Fiorentina and Juventus only drew 27.000 viewers, which was just 4,000 people more than the 23,000 who watched Preston against Burnley. Both games were on beIN SPORTS. The decline of Serie A from the 1980s until now is sad to see.
| Pos. | Teams | No. of viewers | TV Network | Game time (ET) | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester vs. Swansea | 569,000 | NBCSN | 11:15am-1:15pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 2 | Barcelona vs. Sporting | 511,000 | beIN SPORTS en Español | 2:30-4:30pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 3 | Veracruz vs. Cruz Azul | 441,000 | Univision Deportes | 11pm-12:30am | Fri., April 22 |
| 4 | Sunderland vs. Arsenal | 430,000 | NBCSN | 8:30-10:30am | Sun., April 24 |
| 5 | Liverpool vs. Newcastle | 425,000 | NBCSN & NBC Universo | 10am-Noon | Sat., April 23 |
| 6 | Rayo vs. Real Madrid | 364,000 | beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español | 10am-Noon | Sat., April 23 |
| 7 | Atletico Madrid vs. Malaga | 363,000 | beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español | 12:15-2:15pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 8 | Club America vs. Toluca | 340,000 | Univision Deportes | 6-8pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 9 | Pachuca vs. Chivas | 340,000 | NBC Universo | 9-11pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 10 | Tottenham vs. WBA | 313,000 | NBCSN & NBC Universo | 3-5pm | Mon., April 25 |
| 11 | UNAM vs. Tijuana | 290,000 | Univision Deportes | 8:45-10:45pm | Fri., April 22 |
| 12 | Everton vs. Man United | 289,000 | FOX Sports 2 & FOX Deportes | 12:15-2:15pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 13 | Manchester City vs. Stoke | 278,000 | NBCSN & NBC Universo | 7:45-9:45am | Sat., April 23 |
| 14 | Monterrey vs. Queretaro | 263,000 | Univision Deportes | 8-10pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 15 | Puebla vs. Jaguares | 253,000 | Univision Deportes | 6-8pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 16 | Bournemouth vs. Chelsea | 211,000 | USA | 10am-Noon | Sat., April 23 |
| 17 | New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando | 208,000 | FOX Sports 1 & FOX Deportes | 8-10pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 18 | San Jose vs. Kansas City | 180,000 | ESPN | 4-6pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 19 | Eibar vs. Deportivo | 120,000 | beIN SPORTS en Español | 4:30-6:30pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 20 | Crystal Palace vs. Watford | 94,000 | FOX Sports 2 & FOX Deportes | 11am-1pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 21 | Hertha Berlin vs. Bayern Munich | 76,000 | FOX Sports 2 & FOX Deportes | 9:30-11:30am | Sat., April 23 |
| 22 | Villarreal vs. Sociedad | 72,000 | beIN SPORTS en Español | 2:30-4:30pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 23 | Rio Ave vs. Benfica | 56,000 | Univision Deportes | 4-6pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 24 | PSG vs. Lille | 46,000 | beIN SPORTS | 3-5pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 25 | Getafe vs. Valencia | 45,000 | beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español | 12:15-2:15pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 26 | Hamburg vs. Werder Bremen | 41,000 | FOX Sports 2 & FOX Deportes | 2:30-4:30pm | Fri., April 22 |
| 27 | Frankfurt vs. Mainz | 39,000 | FOX Deportes | 1:30-3:30pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 28 | Sevilla vs. Real Betis | 35,000 | beIN SPORTS en Español | 10am-Noon | Sun., April 24 |
| 29 | Fiorentina vs. Juventus | 27,000 | beIN SPORTS | 2:45-4:45pm | Sun., April 24 |
| 30 | Preston vs. Burnley | 23,000 | beIN SPORTS | 2:45-4:45pm | Fri., April 22 |
| 31 | Sporting vs. Madeira | 21,000 | Univision Deportes | 1:30-3:30pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 32 | Las Palmas vs. Espanyol | 19,000 | beIN SPORTS en Español | 3-5pm | Fri., April 22 |
| 33 | Hellas Verona vs. AC Milan | 19,000 | beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español | 11am-1pm | Mon., April 25 |
| 34 | Tampa Bay vs. Carolina Railhawks | 13,000 | beIN SPORTS | 7:30-9:30pm | Sat., April 23 |
| 35 | Roma vs. Napoli | 10,000 | beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español | 9-11am | Mon., April 25 |
| 36 | Derby vs. Sheffield Wednesday | 8,000 | beIN SPORTS | 7:30-9:30am | Sat., April 23 |
| 37 | Sampdoria vs. Lazio | 6,000 | beIN SPORTS | 9-11am | Sun., April 24 |
| 38 | Carpi vs. Empoli | 4,000 | beIN SPORTS | 1-3pm | Mon., April 25 |
Note that viewing figures for soccer games shown on the over-the-air Univision network have not been made available.
SEE MORE: Browse through all of the TV ratings data from now through 2006
