Note: Since the publication of this article, it is evident that the figures cited here and elsewhere on the Internet are incomplete. The numbers in the table below do not include numbers of MLS matches broadcast on Apple TV or NWSL matches broadcast on Paramount. In addition, the figures described as averages in the original table are actually aggregates.
The numbers here are the overall audience for a handful of games, not the average audience for each game; are classified as “Total Average Audience Across Club or Team, 2023”.
We are in favour of confusion, but we are content to provide this clarity.
The original post below remains unchanged.
According to an article published in World Soccer Talk, New York City FC’s television is approximately 67% higher than that of the New York Red Bulls.
The post features the Top 100 soccer teams by viewership in the United States, a list that includes all teams in all leagues throughout the world. The most-watched team in the United States is Club America in Liga MX, followed by Manchester City, Chivas de Guadalajara, Tigres UNAL, and Liverpool FC.
NYCFC came in at number 77, with an average audience of 779,000 people. That’s smart for 17th place of all MLS teams, putting New York City in the middle of the pack in the 29-team league. The New Jersey Red Bulls are in 94th place, with 467,000 spectators per match, FC Köln in the Bundesliga.
NYCFC and Red Bulls have Gotham FC in 75th place, with 817,000 spectators per game.
These figures should be taken with a grain of salt. World Soccer Talk and AS published a list of Helltown, a soccer blog put together by graphic designer Larry W. Johnson. Helltown collects the self-reported audience from streaming and streaming services, but it’s unclear how the site accessed MLS Season Pass figures on Apple TV. MLS and Apple TV are notoriously secretive about the length of their audiences.
However, at a press conference held in November 2023, MLS executives claimed that “more than one million viewers” had watched the biggest matches of the season.
Either way, the numbers make for good reading. You can find the complete table here.
Unsurprisingly, Inter Miami CF leads all MLS teams in terms of viewership. According to the report, Inter Miami ranks 39th among all teams with 4. 9 million viewers per game, only Paris-Saint Germain (5 million) and well ahead of Southampton. FC (4. 3 million).
LAFC have the second-highest viewership in MLS, with an average audience of 3.58 million per game.
Rank
club
Average Viewers
39
InterMiami
4. 92 million
46
LAFC
3. 58 million
49
Portland Timbers
3. 25 million
50
Nashville SC
2. 93 million
51
Seattle Sounders
2. 77 million
56
KC Sporty
1.85 million
57
Philadelphia Union
1.83 million
58
City of St. Louis SC
1. 80 million
59
Atlanta United
1. 76 million
60
Los Angeles Galaxy
1. 55 million
63
United Minnesota
1. 45 million
69
Cincinnati
1. 08 million
70
Columbus’s crew
1. 04 million
71
Chicago Fire
1. 02 million
72
D. C. United
953 000
76
Houston Dynamo
782,000
77
NYCFC
779,000
80
Charlotte FC
757 000
85
City of Orlando
577 000
87
Austin FC
506,000
88
Earthquakes in San Jose
499 000
94
New Jersey Red Bulls
467,000
97
New England Revolution
451 000
100
Vancouver Whitecaps
411 000
Now known as Seattle Reign, OL Reign’s broadcast of 1. 5 million viewers per game in 2023 leads all NWSL teams and all 10 MLS teams.
Five of the league’s 12 are in the Top 100.
Rank
club
Average Viewers
62
OL Reign
1. 50 million
73
Washington Spirit
1. 09 million
73
San Diego Wave
884 000
75
Gotham FC
817 000
91
Angel City FC
474 000
Also unsurprisingly, teams from Liga MX and the Premier League dominate the list. They combine for 23 of the Top 25 (Barcelona FC and Real Madrid complete the list), and 38 of the Top 50.
As for the only top-tier league team on the list, mighty Wrexham AFC, which competed in England’s semi-professional National League last year, averaged 581,000 spectators per game, putting it in 84th place. It’s funny how an 18-episode blockbuster docudrama can be enough for its audience.
With The Revolution in the top 10 attendees, a founding MLS franchise with a decades-long fan base, a team that has made the playoffs in the past five years, and the second-least-watched MLS team on the list gets nowhere. It makes sense to me.
To a lesser extent, I also look at the NWSL numbers. OL Reign averaged 1. 5 million viewers, however, the NWSL final featuring OL Reign Vs Gothams attracted only 817,000 viewers. I know there are differences in schedules and networking, but it’s still a very big difference. I can buy the order of the ranked teams, but the average overestimates Paramount’s audience a bit.
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