Based on new data from Nielsen compiled by World Soccer Talk and sports media analyst Larry Johnson, the Premier League’s average on TV and streaming, and for the first time in 2023, is consistently higher than that of the LigaMx. (One caveat to the analysis is that it does not seem to include viewers of Chivas de Guadalajara matches broadcast/streamed by Telemundo/NBC properties). A separate study established that combining all soccer TV and streaming viewership in 2023, the Premier League represents 30% of all viewership, and Liga MX 23%.) Johnson from Helltown Beer analyzed the statistics on LigaMX and English Premier League viewership on Univision from 2022 to 2023. The average Univision viewership for the Mexican league in 2022 was around 900,000. By comparison, the Premier League viewership on NBC or USA Network was just shy of 800,000. But in 2023, the ranking inverted. The Premier League was relatively flat, as average viewership was 700,000. In comparison, Liga MX decreased to just over 600,000, declining by more than 30% versus 2022.
English Premier League amounted to 30% of all soccer viewership in the U.S. in 2023, LigaMx 23%.
Top 8 most-watched Soccer Leagues in the U.S.
| Rank | League | Broadcaster/Streamer |
| 1. | English Premier League | Peacock/NBC Sports/USA Network |
| 2 | Liga MX except: -Chivas de Guadalajara home games -Home Games of: FC Juárez, Monterey, Santos and Tijuana | Univision/Vix/Vix+ (Spanish and English) Telemundo, Universo, Peacock Fox Deportes |
| 3. | Major League Soccer (U.S.) | Apple TV and Fox (34 matches) |
| 4. | LaLiga (Spain) | ESPN/ESPN+ |
| 5. | NWSL (U.S.) | CBS Sports Network/Paramount+ |
| 6. | Bundesliga (Germany) | ESPN/ESPN+ |
| 7. | Serie A (Italy) | CBS Sports Network/Paramount+ |
| 8. | Ligue 1 (France) | beIN Sports |
Source: Nielsen, Helltown Beer
These changes in soccer viewership in the U.S. will impact soccer marketing. Five factors explain the relative rise of the English Premier League versus Liga MX:
1. Soccer Viewership in the U.S.: Access is Now Prevalent
Asked about the rise of the English Premier League in soccer viewership in the U.S., Edwin Hincapie, Brand Director Santa Teresa Rum at Bacardi, tells Portada that the increase in the relevancy of European leagues in the U.S. is mainly related to the easy access U.S. viewers have to leagues in major soccer countries like England, Spain, Italy, and Germany: “I can wake up and I can have the entire EPL in front of me. 10 years ago you had to search hard to find EPL matches”. Hincapie adds that fans ask themselves where the best players are. “We want to follow the best, and those include EPL legacy teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City. Being a fan travels with you.” Hincapie worked on many sports marketing initiatives throughout his career, including a position he held as multicultural Trade & Brand Marketing Director at Heineken USA. According to Hincapie, “People ask themselves who the New York Yankees of soccer are,” implying that they want to watch the best in soccer.
” People ask themselves who the New York Yankees of soccer are.”
Hincapie notes that LigaMX will continue to shine despite losing the top spot in U.S. soccer viewership to the EPL. The European leagues have a very different viewer demographic. “The LigaMX is mostly viewed by a particular Mexican American consumer who grew up with the sports and whose parents followed it. It is a big part of their culture,” Hincapie emphasizes.
2. Leagues Cup Expansion
Last summer, an expanded version of the Leagues Cup took place. The annual competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX is hosted in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the tournament was expanded to include all clubs from MLS and Liga MX and now functions as a regional cup for the North American region of CONCACAF, covering Canada, Mexico, and the United States. According to the analysis from Helltown in 2023, The Leagues Cup had a share of 3% of soccer viewership in the U.S. (vs. 30% of EPL and 23% of Liga MX).
The Leagues Cup had a share of 3% of soccer viewership in the U.S., compared to 30% of EPL and 23% of LigaMX.
With its LigaMX team participation, the Leagues Cup may have directly competed with the regular LigaMX among fans who were somewhat exhausted and watched fewer LigaMX matches.
3. Soccer Viewership in the U.S.:Rightholders Put Matches Behind Paywalls
In addition, the Leagues Cup may not have been perceived favorably by fans of Liga MX clubs. One of the reasons is that many of the Leagues Cup matches involving Liga MX teams were streamed behind the MLS Season Pass paywall. This is preventing fans of Liga MX clubs from watching many of the games.
Televisa Univision, the rights holder for most Liga MX games in Spanish and English, can choose whether to put the matches for free on open-air TV, its free streaming service VIX, and/or on its paid streaming service VIX+. To make its content more appealing to paying subscribers, TelevisaUnivision made more of the Liga MX games only available beyond the ViX+ paywall decreasing overall LigaMX viewership and irking LigaMX fans in the U.S..
4. Apple TV MLS Deal
The level of soccer viewership of MLS matches in the U.S. is still unclear, as there is very little visibility about the paid subscriber count by Apple. Last July, Sports Business Journal published that the AppleTV MLS Season Pass was nearing 1 million subscribers, bolstered by the recent engagement of superstar Lionel Messi by Inter Miami. The growth potential is huge; Estimates from market research firm Antenna put Apple TV+ — available on all modern streaming platforms and not just Apple devices — somewhere around 25 million paid subscribers. (More fall under a trial period tied to Apple hardware purchases.) These overall AppleTV+ subscribers can be cross-sold to the MLS Season Pass. In addition to the Apple TV rights to the MLS, Fox can broadcast 34 matches in a traditional linear format. MLS has a significant opportunity to increase its popularity and overall standing; more disclosure of subscriber count by AppleTV in the medium term will tell if the MLS can make a significant dent in soccer viewership in the U.S. and challenge the status quo.
5. Younger Fans Follow Players More Than Teams
Another factor likely favoring the EPL versus LigaMX is that younger fans follow players more closely than teams. Players have huge followings on social media. The EPL overall has the best and deepest high-quality roster of players of any league in the world. Top stars include Erling Haaland , Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Julian Alvarez. The popularity of these players on social media has a positive effect on U.S. soccer viewership of the EPL.
