It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to share the TV ratings for ESPN2′s coverage of the Barclay’s Premier League 2009-2010 season, so here are the most recent ratings from late December 2009 through last week.
The new ratings are bolded. See below.
Nielsen Ratings for Premier League Games on ESPN2: August through January 16, 2010:
- Liverpool v Aston Villa, 8/24/2009, Monday, 3pm ET, 398,391 viewers
- Portsmouth v Manchester United, 11/28/2009, Saturday, 10am, 396,995
- Wigan v Man United, 8/22/2009, Saturday, 10am, 374,799
- Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/31/2009, Saturday, 8:45am, 325,187
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 9/28/2009, Monday, 3pm, 293,600
- Portsmouth v Burnley, 12/5/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 278,078
- Portsmouth v Liverpool, 12/12/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 276,160
- Stoke City v Liverpool, 1/16/2010, Saturday, 7:45am, 273,000
- Portsmouth v Everton, 9/26/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 270,927
- Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/3/2009, Saturday, 10am, 265,508
- Tottenham v Sunderland, 11/7/2009, Saturday, 10am, 259,831
- Chelsea v Burnley, 8/29/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 253,934
- Liverpool v Burnley, 9/12/2009, Saturday, 10am, 253,779
- Aston Villa v Manchester City, 10/5/2009, Monday, 3pm, 248,956
- Birmingham City v Chelsea, 12/26/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 246,000
- Liverpool v Manchester City, 11/21/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 236,247
- Wolves v Manchester City, 12/28.2009, Monday, 2:45pm, 219,000
- Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers, 1/11/2010, Monday, 3pm, 209,547
- Fulham v Hull City, 10/19/2009, Monday, 3pm, 209,207
- Aston Villa v Chelsea, 10/17/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 206,886
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa, 10/24/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 204,882
- Stoke City v Wigan Athletic, 12/12/09, Saturday, 7:45am, 202,000
- Burnley v Sunderland, 9/19/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 199,380
- Liverpool v Birmingham City, 11/9/2009, Monday, 3pm, 182,138
- Chelsea v Hull City, 8/15/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 164,485
The new ratings are disappointing in that they didn’t break the 300,000 barrier for number of viewers. However, the games shown haven’t featured clashes between the big sides.
Better news for ESPN (and soccer fans Stateside) is that the Disney owned channel will be featuring some more attractive games within the next couple of months including Liverpool v Everton (February 6), Everton v Manchester United (February 20), Chelsea v Manchester City (February 27), Manchester City v Spurs (March 6) and Manchester United v Fulham (March 13).
Whilst the numbers may be a bit low we have to remember an almost complete blackout of advertisement by ESPN. They haven’t done much to expand the viewing audience. If all goes well with the FSC/FS+ transition it may be better if it’s all in one place. I realise we have our complaints with FSC but at least they promote their product.
i guess the question is, does FSC promote itself on FSN or Fox? ESPN’s only soccer-related promotion these days is the World Cup.
hey – love the email option now!
Sucka99, glad you liked it. Someone on EPL Talk, I forgot who, requested the feature be added since it’s sometimes hard to track comments because we often get more than one hundred a day, so that should help significantly.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
You said it’s because the matchups aren’t the greatest but if you take a look at the ratings notice none of the top ones are the 7:45am game. The earlier the broadcast the lower the ratings.
They aren’t getting any west coast audience because they are showing the early games. If they showed a later game then people on the west coast would be awake. Of course then they would probably be losing market share on the east coast to more traditional sports.
remember that Neilsen ratings for networks like this don’t count DVR game. So the numbers for the early games will always be low because any West Coast viewers are likely watching on DVR.
The whole Neilsen system needs to be revamped.
Nielsen does count those viewers who watch off DVRs within 24 hours of the broadcast.
Not in the basic listings. They break that out now. Since mid-last year. Either way, the numbers are malleable.
how do these ratings compare to programming previous to ESPN’s move to soccer on Saturdays? Only then can we know the importance of these ratings.
I found this on ESPN’s site.
“CELEBRATION, Fla. — Programming in the BASS Saturday and Saltwater Sunday blocks of television on ESPN2 continue to build momentum in 2006, enjoying a 9 percent increase in average viewers compared to 2005 (306,600 vs. 280,300).”
it is really nice casting for EPL and it also publishes the ESPN more than anything.
How do these ratings compare to Champions League, CCL and Mexican games?