The least viewed MLS Championship ever
 

http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/12/1...-mls-cup-ever/



Saturday’s live broadcast of the 2013 MLS Cup on ESPN had an average viewing audience of 505,000, which is the least-viewed MLS Cup ever on English-language television.
The previous record low was the 748,000 viewers who watched the 2010 MLS Cup between Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas. That game had a 0.44 TV rating, but the viewing audience was greater than the 2013 MLS Cup due to the 2010 game being shown at night instead of the 4pm ET broadcast between Sporting KC-Real Salt Lake.
The 2012 MLS Cup between between LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo had a 0.7 TV rating and was viewed by an average of 797,000 people. The 2013 MLS Cup viewership was down 44% from 2012.
The disappointing 505,000 viewing audience figure for the Sporting Kansas City against Real Salt Lake game follows the 29% decline in regular season MLS TV ratings on ESPN compared to last year, as well as a 8% decline on NBCSN.
The 505,000 number is the same as the viewing audience for a repeat of Everybody Loves Raymond, which was shown on TBS at the same time as the second half of the 2013 MLS Cup. In contrast, 514,000 viewers watched MLS Cup 2013 on UniMas.
In comparison to Premier League matches, the 505,000 people who watched MLS Cup 2013 was fewer than the 507,000 who watched Chelsea-Southampton on Sunday, December 1 at 11am ET on NBCSN but slightly greater than the 499,000 viewers who watched Arsenal versus Everton (played on Sunday at 11am ET on NBCSN).
Read: Why Major League Soccer Has Bigger Issues Than Just Poor TV Ratings
TV ratings for MLS’s premier game, MLS Cup, from 1996 to 2013 are:
0.5 2013: *Sporting Kansas City-Real Salt Lake (ESPN)
0.7 2012: Los Angeles-Houston (ESPN)
0.8 2011: Los Angeles-Houston (ESPN)
0.4 2010: Colorado-FC Dallas (ESPN)
0.8 2009: Real Salt Lake-Los Angeles (ESPN)
0.6 2008: Columbus-New York (ABC)
0.8 2007: Houston-New England (ABC)
0.8 2006: Houston-New England (ABC)
0.8 2005: Los Angeles-New England (ABC)
0.8 2004: D.C. United-Kansas City (ABC)
0.6 2003: San Jose-Chicago (ABC)
0.8 2002: Los Angeles-New England (ABC)
1.0 2001: San Jose-Los Angeles (ABC)
0.7 2000: Kansas City-Chicago (ABC)
0.7 1999: D.C. United-Los Angeles (ABC)
1.0 1998: Chicago-D.C. United (ABC)
1.4 1997: D.C. United-Colorado (ABC)
1.4 1996: D.C. United-Los Angeles (ABC)

Read more at http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/12/1...ebkM75kppwd.99

Nebraskas highest viewed game this year drew 1/3 of KU elite 8 in 2012. Ratings are fun.

so that means MLS fans are dying of krocodil, which is good.

They had more than one?

No1curr

I am a huge soccer fan.

Saturday morning I watched Man U and Newcastle. After that was Sunderland vs Tottenham. At 3:00 I watched Copa del Rey - Real Madrid vs Olimpic de Xativa.

I don't have time to watch that MLS stuff.

Zach would scold me if he read this.

The hope should be to stay a niche forever, at least if you're a fan.

It's because all the people who live in the Southern states were watching the SEC Championship game.

Zach, don't cry.

I thought soccer was growing

In KC, it had a 4.5. It cost the SEC championship game from getting a 20+ in the KC tv market though.

The season started March 2nd. There is no reason to draw the season out until December 7th which is when the final game was. If you are trying to compete with season ending football you will lose.

Probably could have benefited from some advertising. Didn't see a single ad for the championship game until 3-4 days prior. Stupid.

Also, why in the early afternoon and not prime time?

Yeah. Baseball too. They should just cut baseball seasons in half.

I believe the reason is make the league half way more in line with rest of the world who uses a Fall-Winter-Spring schedule and has the summer off. Have to ask one of the soccer nuts.

I had a similar Saturday. Saturday morning I watched paint dry. After that was watching water freeze. At 3:00 I watched grass grow. Exciting!!!

I didn't know they televised soccer.

Since they don't have electricity in those third world countries where it's really popular, I didn't think it would be feasible...

Do me a favor and go look up when the Red Sox played their first game and their last game. Please report your findings here.

That's actually not true, billay. You're not accounting for the Spanish language broadcast on Univision. This is the first year that MLS has partnered w/ Univision for an MLS Cup broadcast, so I don't blame you for glossing this fact over, even though it's quoted in the article.

U.S. televisions accounted for nearly a 1.2 share across ESPN and Univision.

But, yeah, they need to not schedule the game opposite college football conference championship games. That much is undeniable.

Where was it at on attendance?

it didn't help that the two fanbases in the championship game were Utah and Kansas.

1.2 amazing!

it was on TV during Mizzou/Auburn, Texas/Baylor and other must-see football games.

I never said a lot of people watched it! Only that it wasn't actually the least-viewed MLS Cup final ever.

WNBA gets higher ratings.

I don't understand why popularity of a sport matters from a fan perspective.

I'm going to assume that billay is a huge fan of One Direction fan since he clearly feels that popularity is what's important.

There were some damn good games on at the same time. They had to compete.

I'm going to assume he's a fan of One Direction for other reasons.

KC has a soccer team?

I did actually know that, but what I couldn't understand was why they were playing outdoor soccer on December 7.

Those poor people were already being subjected to watching soccer, do they have to freeze their asses off as well?








I kid, I kid

I think the college slate followed by a NFL Sunday killed some of the run in the days afterward as well. Kevin Harlan mentioning it during the Chiefs game was about all I heard about it nationally.

I dont know what one direction is. Please stay on topic.

It probably doesn't from an average fan perspective. It absolutely does matter for the health of their league through. TV matters.

I find it odd that MLS viewership seems to be fading year-over-year and has been since the late 90's.

The sport seems more popular than ever.

Probably because kids now watch on streams in their dorm rooms instead of on tv.

Mexicans can't afford ESPN.

I think MLS has a very specific, narrow fan base who are very die hard. the league does a great job catering t them. moost of them probably attend the games in person instead of watching on TV.

On against a ton of good college football games, not a surprise. But the people who like soccer and didnt watch that game really missed out.

I'd like to know the ratings in the KC viewing area and Salt Lake.

Their loss. It was an awesome game to watch.

FYP (Note: Thoughts are not necessarily my own, just representing popular southern thought)

Something I've been wondering about of late: Is the MLS REALLY doing that much better and growing in the U.S.? Or is it just doing a better job of marketing itself to its hardcore fanbase?

They should've put it off for one more week, could've had next Saturday all to themselves.

That's the million dollar question. My guess is the later, but it's done a tremendous job marketing to the Milennials.

Soccer is on the verge of a windfall.

I live in rural America and even here, in towns of 1000-4000 people, kids are playing soccer 2:1 over all the other youth sports combined.

It won't be long before it's an official HS sport.

They stupidly scheduled it on championship weekend. Why not this coming weekend?

I would definitely have watched, but couldn't

It won't ever pass football, baseball or basketbal in the US for popularity....or it will take decades and a major cultural shift. But it's proven it has a dedicated niche. It's here to stay.

Soccer has been the #1 youth participation sport for decades. Literally...decades.

Of course, if you're to believe Chuck Klosterman (and I happen to in this case) it's because youth soccer is geared towards an outcast culture that doesn't like sports, and soccer is the least reprehensible of all options because you can float through the season anonymously, whereas uncoordinated people in other sports are singled out--batting in baseball, shooting/ball-handling/defense in basketball.

Not here it hasn't been.

WTF? You have to dribble, shoot, and move.

It's a race to see which sport is more irrelevant in the US... Soccer or Hockey? And soccer just took the lead.

There's no arguing that if there was one sport that Daria wouldn't be terrible at would be wing back as long as she doesn't get her deathcab glasses caught up on those net over jerseys.

As a twelve year old, sure. As a seven year old? No.

Meh.

7 or 12, they both get a 10th place ribbon.

It was kind of a screwy finish to the year because of world cup stuff, I think the last two games took a month to play. I don't know about other people, but with soccer I don't watch other teams play for more than a few minutes.

Exactly. I mean, we all can watch the random Thursday or Monday night football game or even college. Who the hell watches a random Chivas USA vs. FC Dallas?

Soccer sux!

I can't. I don't really understand why anyone pays attention to all those Monday/Thursday games the Chiefs aren't playing to be honest. 3 hours a week of Chiefs games is enough for me.

When I was younger I was into all those games but now that I'm older I couldn't care less about the rest of the slate of games. If the Chiefs aren't playing, I generally won't watch unless it's the superbowl.

Having said that, its the same with soccer. If sporting KC isn't playing I don't care about the rest of mls either.

sports betting.

Wanna join my fantasy soccer league Yo?

True. That makes sense. I'm not a gambler either but that makes total sense.

Fantasy football too... as much as I dislike the 5 million posts and comments on the Internet every week about people's FF teams, it's huge.

I count FF as betting.

Every Southern city and every Southern college town has a ton of dedicated soccer fans. You can't throw a rock in suburban Alabama without hitting a Messi jersey.

The MLS expansion into Orlando (and Miama and maybe Atlanta) is going to be a big deal for the league.

Wow, it isn't already? I guess I'm surprised by that for some reason.

Where the hell do you live that soccer isnt already a HS sport?

Cause football is the best thing on tv 99.999% of the time. Love it.

I agree, but you also do not watch a random aaa baseball or minor league football if it were on tv. Soccer fans watch European, that is the big leagues. As great as MLS is going towards skill level it will never overtake Europe..

It is dumb to compare viewership of the MLS to the big 3 or even college. Just like Bo, tons of stupid people just pass judgement without ever going to a game. Most of them I have a feeling learned it from their drunk dad who claimed he could throw a football over a mountain and soccer players are all bundle of stickss. Go to one sporting game and you will enjoy yourself.

On that, I love watching football over futbol. Playing is even more fun, oder Americans playing indoor soccer is basically football. If you try flopping I will hammer you the next time.

And even though I love sporting, I was watching MU football and basketball. I agree it would have done better the next weekend.

Why the need to run the MLS down since Sporting won the cup, anyway? They are a Kansas City team. They are successful. Why the hate?

I am hoping that was sarcasm or maybe he lives in towns where they play 7v7 football.

Hell even in HS in the 90s girls started getting teams from IX.

Where was all this excitement back in 2000 and 2004 when KC played for the cup?

I dare someone to find me a thread on here from back then.

If the thread is found, it shows people care then.

If it is not found, that means soccer is growing?

I kind of remember talking about the championship, not the loss though..

The new ownership group really revitalized the organization. This city has learned to love and understand soccer, in large part, only after the Hunts sold the team.

I want to pinpoint the win over Manchester United in a friendly as a turning point in the fanbase.

Hockey has 3 times the ratings soccer does. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was a 4.7 rating. Hell it averaged 3.3 rating.

The Blues regular season games are getting a 3.5 rating in St. Louis. Sporting KC for their championship game got a 4.5 rating in Kansas City.

Pretty sure that has to do with the MLS's stupid decision to broadcast it on CFB Championship weekend. They literally started at almost the same time as the SECCG.

In most of the towns I have lived in Soccer is for the ones that are either too little to play another sport or aren't athletic/coordinated enough to play another sport. Which I believe skew those numbers making it the #1 youth sport.

It is not a high school sport in most rural or smaller towns. Springfield is the only city that I have lived in where soccer was a high school sport. IIRC not all the schools up there had soccer teams either. Springfield is the only city/town that I have lived in that was larger than 50,000 in population.

It probably was a bad decision to have the championship that weekend. There is one thing that the ratings does show. That is that if there is almost any other sport on soccer will be the last choice by the large majority of people.
It is pretty sad when a "professional" sport cannot get more viewers than college football.

People try to say Soccer and Nascar are growing. I call bullshit on all of it. There's only a handful of pro/college sports that people care about, and Soccer isn't one of them.

NASCAR is second only behind the NFL in tv ratings.

nascar is not a sport, takes zero athletic ability to be great, just like bowling, darts and golf..

There sure is a lot of not caring about soccer going on in this thread.