Bummer of a
season-ender for soccer
MLS Cup game averages a disappointing 0.8 household rating
By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 23, 2011
There's no denying that this was a successful season for Major League Soccer.
The league hit an all-time high in attendance, and it averaged more fans per game than the NHL and NBA for the first time, moving behind only the NFL and NASCAR in attendance.
But that success was certainly not reflected in ratings for this year's MLS Cup, the soccer equivalent of the Super Bowl.
Airing against tough competition from NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and ABC's "American Music Awards" on Sunday evening, the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo averaged just a 0.8 household rating, according to Nielsen, and just over 1 million viewers.
That was even to last year's rating and down slightly from the 2009 final. In fact, it wasn't even the highest-rated soccer game on TV on Sunday. That honor went to a tape-delayed match between Chelsea and Liverpool on Fox that drew a 1.5.
It was a bit of a disappointment, considering how well MLS did this season. Regular-season viewership on ESPN and ESPN2 was up 15 percent over last year, and attendance soared.
MLS set a record with an average 17,872 fans attending each game, according to Sports Business Journal, up 7 percent from last year and slightly outpacing the NHL (17,132) and NBA (17,323).
That came in a year when the league expanded by two teams, to 18 total, nearly double the 10 teams that participated in MLS's inaugural season in 1996, the year the previous attendance record of 17,406 was set.
The most recent expansion teams have been pacing the gains in attendance, which might explain why the Galaxy, one of the league's original 10 squads, did not help TV ratings.
Seattle, which got its team in 2009, led with an average of more than 39,000 fans per game, and Portland and Vancouver, the two newest franchises, both saw strong attendance.
Next year the league will add another team, Montreal, and it will also air on NBC and the soon-to-be-renamed Versus network, in addition to ESPN.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Nov. 20:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, FX, A&E.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Disney Channel, Fox News Channel, Hallmark Channel.
Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, CNBS, HLN.
Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 5. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.)
Top movie (18-49s): Disney Channel's "Up" (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.) 1.37 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "Monday Night Football: Vikings/Packers" (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 14.12 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA's "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.); ESPN's "Monday Night Football: Vikings/Packers" (Monday, 7:30 p.m.); AMC's "The Walking Dead" (Sunday, 9 p.m.); FX's "Sons of Anarchy" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); NFL Network's "Jets/Broncos" (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.).
Show on the rise: NFL Network's "Jets/Broncos" Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Tim Tebow mania helped NFL network average 7.05 million viewers for the game, up 34 percent from the network's first telecast of the season the previous week (Raiders/Chargers).
Show on the decline: Food Network's "Next Iron Chef," Sunday, 9 p.m. The reality competition was one of very few shows to slide last week among 25-54s, slipping 7 percent from 1.61 million viewers to 1.49 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
2956 |
NICK |
1302 |
|
2 |
USA |
2217 |
DSNY |
1301 |
|
3 |
DSNY |
1927 |
ESPN |
1185 |
|
4 |
FOXN |
1514 |
USA |
1087 |
|
5 |
HALL |
1356 |
ADSM* |
1074 |
|
6 |
TBSC |
1265 |
NAN * |
959 |
|
7 |
ADSM |
1150 |
FOXN |
935 |
|
8 |
NAN |
1080 |
TOON |
803 |
|
9 |
HIST |
1066 |
TNT |
784 |
|
10 |
TNT |
1064 |
TBSC |
683 |
|
11 |
AEN |
1062 |
HALL |
635 |
|
12 |
FX |
1050 |
AEN |
632 |
|
13 |
FOOD |
942 |
FX |
600 |
|
14 |
AMC |
914 |
HIST |
580 |
|
15 |
DISC |
901 |
HGTV |
573 |
|
16 |
FAM |
885 |
FOOD |
560 |
|
17 |
HGTV |
877 |
AMC |
543 |
|
18 |
SYFY |
800 |
FAM |
504 |
|
19 |
BRAV |
761 |
DISC |
471 |
|
20 |
TLC |
727 |
TVLD |
451 |
|
21 |
NFLN |
722 |
TRU |
428 |
|
22 |
SPK |
655 |
ID |
417 |
|
23 |
CMDY |
652 |
TLC |
417 |
|
24 |
TVLD |
619 |
SYFY |
404 |
|
25 |
TRU |
616 |
SPK |
401 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1 |
Vikings/Packers |
ESPN |
9990 |
|
2 |
NY Jets vs. Denver |
NFLN |
4876 |
|
3 |
NASCAR Sprint Cup |
ESPN |
4543 |
|
4 |
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
4470 |
|
5 |
Walking Dead |
AMC |
4003 |
|
6 |
Auto: Rain Delay |
ESPN |
3502 |
|
7 |
Nebraska/Michigan |
ESPN |
3382 |
|
8 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
3368 |
|
9 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
3336 |
|
10 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
3073 |
|
11 |
Jessie |
DSNY |
3025 |
|
12 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3011 |
|
13 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
3009 |
|
14 |
Oklahoma St/Iowa St |
ESPN |
3004 |
|
14 |
A Christmas Wish |
HALL |
3004 |
|
16 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2983 |
|
17 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2956 |
|
18 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2949 |
|
19 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
2918 |
|
20 |
Sons Of Anarchy |
FX |
2893 |
|
21 |
Sprint Cup Post Race |
ESPN |
2878 |
|
22 |
NCIS |
USA |
2829 |
|
23 |
Good Luck Charlie |
DSNY |
2795 |
|
24 |
NCIS |
USA |
2774 |
|
25 |
NCIS |
USA |
2748 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
876 |
ADSM* |
556 |
|
2
|
USA |
535 |
ESPN |
390 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
533 |
NAN * |
356 |
|
4
|
FX |
506 |
NICK |
299 |
|
5
|
ADSM |
478 |
TBSC |
291 |
|
6
|
CMDY |
402 |
FX |
273 |
|
7
|
BRAV |
329 |
DSNY |
251 |
|
8
|
DISC |
310 |
USA |
245 |
|
9
|
FAM |
302 |
CMDY |
224 |
|
10
|
NAN |
295 |
TOON |
220 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Vikings/Packers |
ESPN |
3544 |
|
2
|
Walking Dead |
AMC |
2261 |
|
3
|
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
1787 |
|
4
|
Tosh.O |
CMDY |
1689 |
|
5
|
NY Jets vs. Denver |
NFLN |
1646 |
|
6
|
American Horror Story |
FX |
1498 |
|
7
|
Family Guy |
ADSM |
1486 |
|
8
|
Sons Of Anarchy |
FX |
1455 |
|
9
|
Love And Hip Hop 2 |
VH1 |
1341 |
|
10
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
1335 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
1918 |
ESPN |
779 |
|
2
|
USA |
1158 |
ADSM* |
729 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
957 |
USA |
541 |
|
4
|
FX |
854 |
NAN * |
520 |
|
5
|
AEN |
675 |
TBSC |
501 |
|
6
|
ADSM |
666 |
FX |
461 |
|
7
|
DISC |
655 |
NICK |
456 |
|
8
|
FOOD |
596 |
DSNY |
399 |
|
9
|
BRAV |
595 |
AEN |
394 |
|
10
|
AMC |
584 |
TNT |
379 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Vikings/Packers |
ESPN |
7351 |
|
2
|
Walking Dead |
AMC |
4007 |
|
3
|
NY Jets vs. Denver |
NFLN |
3718 |
|
4
|
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
3644 |
|
5
|
Sons Of Anarchy |
FX |
2753 |
|
6
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2621 |
|
7
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2553 |
|
8
|
NASCAR Sprint Cup |
ESPN |
2457 |
|
9
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2441 |
|
10
|
American Horror Story |
FX |
2350 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
2005 |
ESPN |
775 |
|
2
|
USA |
1179 |
USA |
556 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
865 |
ADSM* |
461 |
|
4
|
FX |
738 |
TBSC |
443 |
|
5
|
AEN |
707 |
TNT |
428 |
|
6
|
HIST |
656 |
AEN |
398 |
|
7
|
DISC |
645 |
FX |
386 |
|
8
|
FOOD |
640 |
NICK |
363 |
|
9
|
AMC |
604 |
NAN * |
351 |
|
10
|
BRAV |
564 |
HIST |
340 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Nov. 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Vikings/Packers |
ESPN |
7399 |
|
2
|
NY Jets vs. Denver |
NFLN |
3878 |
|
3
|
Walking Dead |
AMC |
3592 |
|
4
|
Sportscenter |
ESPN |
3548 |
|
5
|
NASCAR Sprint Cup |
ESPN |
3048 |
|
6
|
Sons Of Anarchy |
FX |
2682 |
|
7
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2532 |
|
8
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2483 |
|
9
|
WWE Raw |
USA |
2459 |
|
10
|
Storage Wars |
AEN |
2357 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
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