July 17 – With the 2014 World Cup over, and the US national team inspiring their nation for the duration of their stay in Brazil, eyes have turned to the MLS and particular attention to TV viewing figures and whether new-found national love of the world game is being sustained.
MLS Television viewership figures have risen for the 2014 season in comparison to the 2013 season by an impressive amount. For the 12 games NBCSN has shown there has been an average audience of 172,000, which is 81% greater than the average 2013 figures.
For the three games that ESPN 2 has covered there has been an 83% increase in viewership, with around 309,000 people watching. And for the solitary game that ESPN has covered there was an 89% increase in average audience in comparison to 2013, with around 495,000 people watching at any one time.
Despite these promising figures, the full story is a little more worrying for those hoping for a football revolution in the US. Since the close of the World Cup, and the resumption of MLS fixtures after the league’s short break, the four games that NBCSN have shown averaged 82,000, which is 62% down from the first eight games prior to the world cup.
This is largely due to the absence of ‘lead in’ English Premier League games that preceded the first eight MLS games. Without the booster of straggling English Premier League fans losing their remotes it seems that the MLS is failing to capture the supposedly newly invigorated American fanbase.
In fact there is an overall downward trend in MLS viewership. ESPN and ESPN2’s figures showed a fall from an average audience of 311,000 to 220,000 from 2012 to 2013. NBCSN’s figures also fell in the same period from an average 122,000 to 112,000, and they have not renewed their contract with MLS.
As English language speaking viewers disappeared in the US, Spanish-speaking broadcaster Univision saw their viewership double between 2012 and 2013 to 135,000. And their success has maintained thus far in the 2014 season, averaging 136,000 viewers.
Particular issues that the broadcasters have are the late kick-off times of the matches. The three upcoming matches scheduled to be shown on ESPN2 and NBCSN are at 6pm or later Eastern Time, which is 9pm on the west coast.
ESPN are trying to change their viewership fortunes, as they have recently started offering coverage for games online without requiring a subscription to their channel. This is an attempt to capitalise on the “young, mobile and tech savvy audience” who have expressed interest in the MLS, according to Nielsen’s ‘2013 Year in Sports Media Report’. The repeat MLS viewers tend to own smartphones and use mobile video services according to the report.
As of yet there is little evidence to show that football interest will rocket in the fashion some had hoped after the US’ world cup performance.
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