By Ben Nicholson
June 24 – The MLS has experienced a 6.1% year-on-year average increase in attendance, as recorded prior to the start of the FIFA World Cup. The league average attendance currently sits at 18,497 spectators per game.
Six clubs (Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, Real Salt Lake and Sporting K.C.) have all reached the 100% capacity threshold.
Seattle Sounders lead the charts with an average attendance of 40,091, which is actually a 3.4% decrease from their previous year’s average. DC United have enjoyed the greatest increase, seeing a 22.2% increase in their average attendance. In contrast, the struggling Chivas USA suffered the greatest decrease, falling by 8.5%.
Overall, for the 137 matches included in an attendance report, 2,534,045 fans attended the games. The stadiums on average have been operating at 82.2% of capacity.
It appears as though interest in football in the US is growing, as evidenced by the record audience that tuned in to watch the US’ opening game at the FIFA World Cup against Ghana. 15.9 million viewers watched the game on ESPN and Univision combined, setting World Cup viewership records for both networks simultaneously.
This record was short-lived, as the USA vs Portugal game attracted 24.7 million viewers across the two networks, which also usurps the 24.3 million people that watched the 2010 World Cup Final. ESPN reported that the 18.2 million people that tuned in to watch their coverage was the highest non-American football audience ever.
Looking to take advantage of the growing popularity of the sport in the US, ESPN and Fox recently reached eight-year deals with the MLS for English-language rights whilst Univision has secured Spanish-language rights.
ESPN and Fox will pay a total of $75 million per year and Univision will pay $15 million per year to show over 125 MLS matches and the US men and women national teams’ matches.
Fox return to broadcasting the league, replacing NBC, after a three-year split.
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