Soccer Lovers Love Watching Soccer on TV
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE & FA CUP SOCCER TV VIEWERSHIP SOARS – Renowned European Club Competitions Witness Growth Exceeding 20%
The business of soccer is becoming a booming business – FOX Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup competitions this year have shown huge rise in audience compared to a year ago, according to Nielsen Ratings.
Click here for a cool interactive guide to UEFA champions league – Chart your club’s route to the final and find out everything you need to know.
On Monday (2/16), Manchester United eliminated Preston North End with a 3-1 victory in their FA Cup 5th Round match on FOX Sports 1, drawing 267,000 viewers, a +57% increase over the lone FA Cup 5th Round match on FOX Sports 1 last year between Everton and Swansea City (170,000). Among the Adults 18-49 demographic, the match more than doubled last year’s game (183,000 vs, 87,000). These stats are great but are even better when you think about the lack of fan base for Preston North End – who are they?
Half a million soccer lovers tune in for Paris St. Germain’s 1-1 match against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 action this past Tuesday (2/17) – and is FOX Sports 1’s most-watched Round of 16 match ever and fourth most-watched UEFA Champions League match overall.
FACT FILE: The game posted a +27% rise over Manchester City-Barcelona on the same match day in 2014 (395,000), while the gain in the Adults 18-49 demographic is +41% over last year’s Manchester City-Barcelona tilt (350,000 vs. 249,000). Wednesday’s (2/18) Round of 16 match featuring last year’s champions Real Madrid and Bundesliga side Schalke scored 461,000 viewers, making it the fifth most-watched UEFA Champions League match in FOX Sports 1 history.
Combined, the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League live match average in the first two months of 2015 (12/29/14-2/18/15 vs. 12/30/13-2/19/14) is +23% vs. year ago (232,000 vs. 188,000). Individually, the FA Cup is +22% (194,000 vs. 159,000) for the same date span, while the UEFA Champions League is +22% (481,000 vs. 395,000).
The Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League continues on FOX Sports 1 on Tuesday, February 24 (Manchester City vs. Barcelona, 2:00 PM ET) and Wednesday, February 25 (Arsenal vs. Monaco, 2:00 PM ET). The FA Cup returns with 6th Round action on Saturday, March 7. Let’s see if soccer lovers can continue to break the records and prove how popular soccer has become!
Photo Credit – Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea and Marco Verratti of PSG in action during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and Chelsea FC at Parc des Princes stadium on February 17, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
