For our new regular weekly feature we look at the most watched soccer matches of the weekend of March 11-12.
What match had the largest audience?
The match that had the most viewers in the U.S., according to Nielsen data, was Burnley vs Liverpool with 434.000 viewers. The match was part of the British Premier League 28th round and was broadcast ive by NBC Sports.
Which broadcaster won?
BeInSports was the most watched network among the ones broadcasting soccer in the U.S. during the March 11-12 weekend with 1.1 million viewers through the weekend. BeinSports has the rights to the Spanish La Liga matches. La Liga has very popular clubs (e.g Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona) as well as popular players (e.g. Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo). BeInSports was followed by Fox Sports and NBC Sports.
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What else is relevant?
Two matches of the FA Cup, the English tournament that is played through knockouts (as opposed to round robin like the Premier League) were among the top 10 most watched soccer matches. Both were broadcast by Fox Sports 1.
| League | Match | Network | Start | End | Total Viewers (000) | Viewers Age 18-49 (000) | Day of the game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREMIER LEAGUE L | BURNLEY/LIVERPOOL | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 11:53 AM | 2:03 PM | 434 | 248 | SUN |
| LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L | REAL MADRID VS. BETIS | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 3:36 PM | 5:47 PM | 414 | 222 | SUN |
| LALIGA SANTANDER MRQ-L | DEPORTIVO VS. BARCELONA | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 11:05 AM | 1:13 PM | 410 | 223 | SUN |
| MLS REGULAR SEASON L | MINNESOTA UNITED/ATLANTA UNITED | ESPN2 | 5:00 PM | 7:10 PM | 278 | 159 | SUN |
| PREMIER LEAGUE L | WEST BROM/EVERTON | NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 9:56 AM | 12:06 PM | 272 | 133 | SAT |
| FA CUP RD 6 L | TOTTENHAM/MILLWALL | FOX SPORTS 1 | 9:54 AM | 12:00 PM | 266 | 117 | SUN |
| MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER L | LA GALAXY/PORTLAND TIMBERS | FOX SPORTS 1 | 7:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 223 | 131 | SUN |
| LALIGA SANTANDER-L | CELTA VS. VILLARREAL | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 1:19 PM | 3:31 PM | 199 | 122 | SUN |
| LALIGA SANTANDER-L | GRANADA VS. ATLETICO MADRID | BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 2:35 PM | 4:45 PM | 164 | 85 | SAT |
| FA CUP RD 6 L | MIDDLESBROUGH/MANCHESTER CITY | FOX SPORTS 1 | 7:00 AM | 9:24 AM | 154 | 70 | SAT |
Source: SportsTVRatings.com (“All data ©Nielsen, provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen”)
