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This excerpt comes from our friend and partner Major League Soccer Talk:
MLS Outperforming EPL on American TVby Kartik Krishnaiyer on November 2, 2009 · 20 comments
The Barclays Premier League may be the most popular sports league in the world, but it is not the most popular football league in the United States. That distinction would fall to the Mexican League. But now, we have empirical data that the EPL is trailing our own top flight domestic league, Major League Soccer in interest, awareness and support.
MLS has seen a 15% increase in viewership on ESPN2 this season and a 60% increase in viewership on Fox Soccer Channel. ESPN2’s viewership for MLS matches is significantly higher than the networks viewership thus far for Premier League or La Liga matches, despite the fact that, MLS game times on the network shift from week to week while EPL and La Liga matches are always at the same time. Additionally, ESPN Deportes ratings are way up as well.
Matches involving David Beckham averaged over 400,000 viewers on the network. Seattle’s admission to the league also helped the surge in interest with the Sounders match against DC United in May being watched by 550,000 viewers, a season high.
Matches on Univision owned Telefutura have dropped slightly, but still draw more average eyeballs than the EPL or La Liga telecasts on ESPN. Telefutura’s MLS telecasts due have a set start time every Sunday and do admittedly lag far behind the network’s FMF matches in the ratings.
Continue reading this article in full complete with expert analysis over at MajorLeagueSoccerTalk.com.
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I am a Seattle fan, but I think that number is very misleading for the Seattle DC match – more than half of their scheduled time was eaten up by an over run of the Little League World Series…
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The article cites a Sounders-DC game played in May, not in August when the LLWS happens.
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kk fails to mention the most popular league in the country is the mexican league, but since they’re all divers and cheats it doesn’t count.
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Sure, when EPL matches on ESPN are on at 4:30am on the West Coast, fewer people are going to watch. I still DVR the weekly match, and watch it when I get up at 8am, but how many other people are going to do that?
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Dave hit it on the head. EPL matches start too early for most viewers.
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While it makes me happy that more people are watching MLS, aren’t most of ESPN’s EPL games on at about 4:30am Pacific time?
And I see even the EPL withering as the conventional wisdom continues to grow that the UEFA Champions League is the one true footy league.
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FYI, DVRing games is counted by Nielsen now.
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Thank you MLS rumors I was just going to mention that. Possibly, the real thing could be that the EPL has just started to be shown this season as the MLS has been around on ESPN for the last 15 yrs.
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People don’t always see every premier league game they mostly see when it’s chelsea, liverpool, or manchester united playing, they dont care about stock city playing totenham or blakburn, but some are like me i also see fulham and everton just to see our americans playing in europe, but galaxy games are higher now that their in the playoff’s, but im proud of this league even though we aren’t at that high level yet, but soon will be and instead of us whearing european jersey’s maybe they will start wearing our american league jerseys.
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joe’s point is valid, even if the event is inaccurate. There was an overrun into the DC-Seattle that match from a College World Series game.
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60% increase on FSC!!! God damn thats a improvement!!
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If the increased viewership is maintained or even increased, it could possible lead to more revenue for MLS down the road, which in turn could lead to a higher salary cap, etc, etc… This can only be a good thing.
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Where’s the data? I don’t believe anything without proper citations. Only morons do so.
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I love the EPL, but if ESPN’s “marquee” matchup isn’t a top-4 team, I’m not interested…the same’s true of MLS, though, I guess. Tough to get excited about NYRB vs. San Jose, for example…ESPN’s MLS coverage should feature more derbies and regional rivalries!
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Ditto the 4:30 EPL comments. No way can I get up that early.
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ESPN and FSC really need to key in on the big match-ups next season. I think they missed several this season. As tired as I am of NYY-BOS on Sunday Night Baseball almost every weekend of the spring/summer, the formula works, and ESPN/FSC needs to do the same w/ MLS to boost viewership even more.
Naturally, I want to see more Seattle, but I also want to see matches from the new Philly and NYRB stadiums along w/ big rivalry matches. Right now the average casual viewer only recognizes LA/Chivas as a big rivalry.
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Good point, God is a Sounder. I do think that it is difficult for the networks to determine what will work in a league that is so young and with so much parity. I don’t think the networks saw Seattle coming but I am willing to bet they get more focus next season.
If I were a ESPN/FSC bigwig I might add some Philly matches, hoping for a duplicate of Seattle’s success, and I also might throw in some New Jersey Red Bulls (yeah, that’s right, I said it) because of the stadium factor.
The only home teams I wouldn’t be trying to show are Dallas, San Jose, KC, and New England. Even Colorado and SLC are marginal. Seriously SLC, is that the best attendance you can get for a playoff match? You even ‘effing won it. Oh, and DCU plays in a dilapidated stadium that is way too large for their fan base, but their fans bring it so it still makes for good TV.
And I do Tivo EPL matches, but I usually don’t get around to watching them because I just don’t have as much vested in it. MLS matches on the other hand I have a vested interest in as a Sounders FC fan. I usually watch two to four MLS matches a week, time permitting. And yes, I pay for Direct Kick and for Match Center Video. Admittedly, I watched just as much MLS prior to Seattle entering the league, but hey, it’s my league and I’ve been following it since 96.
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Good for MLS. Nice to see some market share growth on TV. That is best way for revenue growth.
EPL games will never be in prime time live so that is a competitive advantage our domestic league will always have against European leagues.
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It doesn’t help that the games are on so early, out here on the west coast those games are starting super early in the morning.
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I prefer MLS now. EPL’s too predictable.
Guess who’s going to be in the top four?
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That’s because ESPN shows Burnley every other week. If ESPN aired Man U., Arsenal, or Liverpool on a consistent basis, the ratings would be much higher than MLS
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the most popular derby in the mls is l.a galaxy versus chivas usa, but thats not the biggest rivalry in the mls like most say, the biggest rivalry is l.a galaxy versus d.c united peple have to do their homework to find out a true rivalry, and thats’s the mls true classic.
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don’t_buy_it-
Is it possible that “only morons” come to sites with names like MLS Rumors and demand proper citations?
Just a thought.
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The only English games I watch are the ones with teams who have American players on their rosters. That goes for Bundesliga, La Liga, Seria A, etc…
Otherwise, I prefer MLS. Its not out of patriotism to my country or loyalty to my home team that I say this. It is specifically because I believe MLS is the most exciting league in the world. A few fans never thought the league would be where it is today, and its the same people who doubt the MLS’s potential for the future.
I like that MLSR lets the numbers speak for themselves. You get a guy every now and then who comes on a soccer site and says something about how bad American soccer is or how no one likes the MLS. Someone who has never seen an MLS game or doesn’t pay any attention to the Men’s or Women’s national team wouldn’t know any better, but people who really know soccer know that the MLS is a quality league.
More young American athletes will continue to pursue soccer as their sport of choice if the opprotunities exist locally for them to do so. More MLS teams only increases those opprotunities. Investment in the grassroots system increases those opprotunities. Communities supporting the construction of SSS and tournament fields for youth increase those opprotunities.
There will be a day when each stadium is full, when every game will be televised in HD, and when an MLS CONCACAF Champion is an expectation. This is a reality that will happen sooner than later. America is becoming more globalized and sports that have survived on isolation will be a thing of the past.
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Yes EPL is a good league, but only a few teams are really interesting to watch, and teams at the bottom show a marked drop in quality, and can be boring. I like watching MLS games because I have been a fan from the beginning, I know most of the players, and know what teams they have played for, I know the history, the DC-LA rivalry of the first few years and remembers the coaches when they were players themselves. But the main reason I prefer MLS games over EPL is that its more relevant to me. I can go watch the MLS teams play on any given week in person, I can be there and that makes them more important and more closer to my mind and heart. I love this league and hope it keeps getting better, watching EPL is like watching any other league in the world that is beyond my reach, my means and my ability to attend a live game. MLS is my league.
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for starters, there are more MLS games on tv than EPL games anyway, so this entire claim isn’t very revealing.
the other big issue, as others have said, is EPSN isn’t exactly playing the best matchups. While Wolverhampton versus Aston Villa might be fun for the Aston fans to watch, the match isn’t compelling…. yet this was a recent ESPN offering of the EPL.
bring better games and more of them, and you’ll have better viewership.
i doubt the British sports channels seek out the NFL games featuring the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions, for example.
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i also know for a fact that what makes the mls better is the fact that our american soccer is more of a contact sport, the players crash into each other and it takes for pysical strenth to try and make it here, my friend in england says he see’s mls cause it’s like nfl football meets soccer that’s why it’s more entertaining our american soccer is more harder than even the europeans just watch and you’ll see it for yourself.
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ESPN is also broadcasting in HD which FSC isn’t doing right now. As everyone knows soccer being televised in HD is better and easier to watch. FSC plans on upgrading to HD later this year and into 2010 which will also draw more viewers to EPL and MLS matches.
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