Most-watched soccer games on U.S. TV: Sept. 15-21

Topics: Showbuzzdaily, TUDN, NBCSN, CBS, ESPN, FOX Sports 1

TUDN is back on top of U.S. TV soccer viewership, while the NWSL keeps on gathering massive crowds per game even during the NWSL Fall Series, which is a slate of friendlies.

TUDN's broadcast of Liga MX's game between Club America and Chivas Guadalajara ranked 8th on Showbuzzdaily's top 150 Saturday cable originals and network finals. The game, which Club America won 1-0, drew a total of 663,000 viewers and received a 0.28 viewership rating. Moreover, TUDN performed better than the other four channels that screened soccer games from Sept. 15 through Sept. 21, drawing a total of 1,435,000 viewers over five games and an average of 287,000 viewers per broadcast.

CBS and the National Women's Soccer League continue to thrive, gathering large audiences in the United States. Saturday's North Carolina Courage and Orlando City game averaged 495,000 viewers through CBS, making it the third most-watched game in league history behind the Challenge Cup opener and final. Furthermore, the game received acquired a jaw-dropping 0.22 viewership rating.

CBS averaged 495,000 viewers for NWSL match Saturday between North Carolina & Orlando -- 3rd most in league history behind Challenge Cup opener & final.

Top-rated markets:
Orlando
Nashville
Memphis
Cincy
W Palm Beach
Kansas City
Jacksonville
Greensboro
Portland
Sacramento
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) September 22, 2020

The English Premier League had two games available on NBC Sports Network and the remaining eight on NBC's streaming platform, Peacock. As a result, the number of total viewers was lower than usual at 704,000. However, the broadcasts averaged 352,000 viewers, which was the highest average when comparing it with the only other channel that screened more than one game – TUDN. Saturday's game featuring West Ham and Arsenal was the third most-viewed match of the week with 494,000 average viewers and a strong 0.24 viewership rating.

The remaining two matches that made Showbuzzdaily's top 150 daily cable originals and network finals from Sept. 15 through Sept. 21 were televised by ESPN and FOX Sports 1. Friday's Bundesliga game that saw Bayern defeat Schalke 04 8-0 transmitted by ESPN received a 0.9 viewership rating and drew a crowd of 204,000. The reason why the game did not get more views is simply that it started during work hours on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET. And the game that had the lowest average viewers – 131,000 – and a viewership rating at 0.07 was Major League Soccer's game between the San Jose Earthquakes and Portland Timbers through FOX Sports 1.