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.