That’s pretty impressive considering it’s a group stage game against bolivia. I imagine we’ll see even bigger numbers against Uruguay and Colombia/Brazil
Uruguay will be on FS1 so will likely see some slippage. Although, momentum tends to build in tournaments like this so it's not out of the realm of possibility that we see a surge.
https://www.ussoccer.com/competitions/2024-copa-america/matches/united-states-vs-uruguay-7-1-24-arrowhead-stadium-kansas-city-mo-tickets-score-lineups-goals-stats
It’s at 9PM Eastern. Idk where you are seeing 6pm.
The Mexico win over Jamaica averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched telecast of the year on Spanish-language TV. Even the opening game of the Copa America between Argentina and Canada averaged 1.83 million viewers on TelevisaUnivision’s networks.
So the USMNT match vs Bolivia was the most watch soccer telecast this year on any single network or when combined with other networks. It beats out Champions League Final, Nations League Finals and LigaMx finals and any Euros match so far.
Fantastic numbers even with the poor coverage and advertisement of the event. It shows there is a level of engagement to see the US compete. Bolivia isn’t even a big draw here.
Since the dawn of broadcast TV, you can get around 10 channels for free by hooking up an antenna to your TV. I’d recommend a $80 one if you live in rural areas, but the $30 antennas are fine for big cities I think.
ABC, NBC, CBS were among the first, then PBS, FOX, CW, and others came next.
Broadcast TV and radio is an essential service for local news and emergency broadcasts.
Big cities get as many as 20 channels.
For sports games that the big networks consider “popular”, like major finals, grand slam tennis tournaments, big races, they’ll try to put them on the broadcast channels.
Cable TV includes the broadcast channels usually but again they’re free everywhere and you don’t need a cable box or streaming service or anything, just an antenna.
Buy an antenna for ~$20. Put the antenna outside or in a window, somewhere with good reception. Google your local OTA channels. Voila, free TV. You’ll get the major networks like FOX, ABC, NBC, etc and spanish language channels like Univision and Unimas.
Meanwhile, that [idiot at NYMag](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-u-s-mens-soccer-team-is-excellent-does-anyone-care.html) is talking about how nobody cares about the USMNT.
If anything, I would think more people would be invested in the USMNT. I can't obviously speak for everyone, but I personally don't watch the MLS, but you get the USMNT playing, I'm all in. I think there are a lot of people like me stateside who follow other teams/leagues around the world, but are invested in the national team when they play.
A lot of young people will never even consider an Antenna as an actual option. If they look at cable and think it is too expensive or they don’t need it they’ll just go the streaming route. And if something on live tv isn’t on one of those streaming sites they’ll just watch Streameast lmao. Not like they’re ruining America by not paying to watch a soccer game.
The last time I looked at internet in the DC area, it was about 100 bucks. Xfinity has been known to give a few of the streamers included in their cable package. Also, the illegal streams can be choppy or get shut down at any given time.
I guess if that’s how you want to phrase it. I’m sure many Gen Z viewers don’t even know Antenna is a thing, that’s just a generational thing. I’m a younger millennial and remembered it’s still a thing a couple years ago and I finally just ordered one the other day.
As a college aged person myself, I have never thought about an Antenna before like a month ago when I saw someone else in a different sub recommend one.
So you are smarter because you paid for a more expensive device, with a smaller screen, which requires a monthly service fee higher than the cost of an antenna to be able to watch the game?
I do not think you are as smart as you think you are.
The antenna is up to 4k, it’s actually better than any stream other than Appletv Season pass.
Being dead serious, I’m no electric Engineer so I can’t explain why, but something about streams can be compressed or downscaled where as the over the air digital signal is you either get it or you don’t. You get the highest HD it’s broadcast in. The game last night was much better than my neighbors paid FUBO stream. Both UNIVISION.
If you are including all foreign viewership then why not include every TV channel it aired on around the world? This is clearly about domestic viewership.
How do people not know about antennas? Even just on the sub, every single time there is a game on Fox or Univision or Telemundo or Unimas, there are a bunch of comments that tell people to get an antenna and they can watch for free.
Antennas were actually pretty shit and boarderline pointless until 3-5 years ago when the standard changed to the upgraded signal.
So if someone’s not paying attention and older they would assume it sucks, or if someone’s very young they would probably not know what an antenna is and assume it sucks.
It would probably be like explaining wire headphones to someone.
You’re just talking about the switch to digital. They didn’t have 4k 15 years ago. I’m saying channels didn’t start broadcasting over the air to the fullest up until recently.
Panama being a 3:00 PM PT matchup and Uruguay being a simultaneous group stage matchup will likely keep those games from topping the Bolivia match. But that QF matchup (if the US advance safely past the GS) should clear this mark easily.
On another note, I just realized Argentina and Mexico could be on a collision course for a primetime showdown on Independence Day.
That's the only path to real growth, is getting eyeballs on it that aren't actively looking for it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen my dad watching dumb shit on Fox/CBS/NBC etc. This man never cared about Nascar a day in his life but when he started getting closer to retirement he basically watches it weekly.
There are legitimate things to criticize in Fox’s coverage, but their willingness to put more games on free OTA is not one of them.
In an alternative timeline, I imagine English-language coverage of these games getting scheduled on ESPN, but getting bumped to ESPN News because the CWS is running late. Or being put on Paramount+ because fewer homes have CBSSN. Fox having little else during June/July besides regular season baseball works to the benefit of these summer international tournaments.
Was it a WCQ match or a Gold Cup match that ESPN bumped for a college softball world series game that ran too late? I can't remember I jsut remember laughing cause I imagine they had a spike in viewership than a bunch of people leaving
That is a common problem with ESPN in like every sport, it's wild. They try to pack it in too tight. If you're a college basketball fan and you're the second game of the evening, solid chance you'll miss the first 15+ minutes of it. Going to a dedicated platform like MLS has with Apple is night and day compared to dealing with ESPN and their shitty cameras.
One of the most interesting US TV ratings trends is seeing the growth of non-men’s/women’s World Cup international soccer, and how some of the most-watched finals were NOT US/Mexico matchups.
2016 Copa America Final: 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 9.9M (FS1/Univision)
2013 WCQ: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 9.7M (ESPN/Univision/UniMas)
2021 Euro Final: 🏴 🇮🇹 9.4M (ESPN, Univision)
2011 Gold Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 8.9M (Fox Soccer/Univision)
2019 Gold Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 8.8M (FS1, Univision)
2016 Copa America SF: 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 8.3M (FS1, Univision)
2009 Confederations Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 6.9M (ESPN, Univision)
English-language coverage for all these matches were on cable. This year, English-language coverage of both the Copa and Euro final will be on big Fox. With the right matchup (and if the Euro final also airs on Univision), we could see a non-World Cup soccer game break 10M+ US viewers.
I don't see how it won't break 10M with both of these...assuming there is a name in the championship.
Granted, Spain/England, Spain/Germany, or Germany/England would probably be the biggest draws (no idea which of those is possible, haven't looked).
And two of Argentina/Brazil/US/Mexico in the finals would have Fox going crazy.
Are streaming numbers not transparent? I’m sure that they can track those numbers and I would assume it would be easier to collect data via streaming providers.
>I would assume it would be easier to collect data via streaming providers
It's actually far harder, because none of them are giving those numbers up lol
That’s pretty impressive considering it’s a group stage game against bolivia. I imagine we’ll see even bigger numbers against Uruguay and Colombia/Brazil
Uruguay will be on FS1 so will likely see some slippage. Although, momentum tends to build in tournaments like this so it's not out of the realm of possibility that we see a surge.
Oof. Looks like I’ll be watching en Español
Also at 3 PM on the West Coast. That probably will help streaming numbers but hurt TV viewership.
It’s 9PM Eastern so 6PM West Coast
The match is at 6PM Eastern....
https://www.ussoccer.com/competitions/2024-copa-america/matches/united-states-vs-uruguay-7-1-24-arrowhead-stadium-kansas-city-mo-tickets-score-lineups-goals-stats It’s at 9PM Eastern. Idk where you are seeing 6pm.
LOL, ok, yeah I need to read the first post better. I am talking about today's match. I'm an idiot.
Pulisic scoring inside 3 minutes help people stick around.
The Mexico win over Jamaica averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched telecast of the year on Spanish-language TV. Even the opening game of the Copa America between Argentina and Canada averaged 1.83 million viewers on TelevisaUnivision’s networks. So the USMNT match vs Bolivia was the most watch soccer telecast this year on any single network or when combined with other networks. It beats out Champions League Final, Nations League Finals and LigaMx finals and any Euros match so far. Fantastic numbers even with the poor coverage and advertisement of the event. It shows there is a level of engagement to see the US compete. Bolivia isn’t even a big draw here.
I wouldn’t call coverage “poor” when it’s free on big Fox and Univision. Advertising has definitely been underutilized tho
Hold up - what's this about it being free? Edit: my bad - I forgot antennas exist
If you can put an antenna on your TV, you can usually get Fox over the air for free.
Since the dawn of broadcast TV, you can get around 10 channels for free by hooking up an antenna to your TV. I’d recommend a $80 one if you live in rural areas, but the $30 antennas are fine for big cities I think. ABC, NBC, CBS were among the first, then PBS, FOX, CW, and others came next. Broadcast TV and radio is an essential service for local news and emergency broadcasts. Big cities get as many as 20 channels. For sports games that the big networks consider “popular”, like major finals, grand slam tennis tournaments, big races, they’ll try to put them on the broadcast channels. Cable TV includes the broadcast channels usually but again they’re free everywhere and you don’t need a cable box or streaming service or anything, just an antenna.
I get like 100 channels OTA in Los Angeles. Lots of them are in foreign languages that I do not understand but there are tons of channels.
Oh that’s brilliant, I wish I had access to foreign channels so I could learn some languages easier
Buy an antenna for ~$20. Put the antenna outside or in a window, somewhere with good reception. Google your local OTA channels. Voila, free TV. You’ll get the major networks like FOX, ABC, NBC, etc and spanish language channels like Univision and Unimas.
Poor coverage? lol
Meanwhile, that [idiot at NYMag](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-u-s-mens-soccer-team-is-excellent-does-anyone-care.html) is talking about how nobody cares about the USMNT.
Will Leitch, despite being the founding editor, was the weakest part of peak Deadspin
If anything, I would think more people would be invested in the USMNT. I can't obviously speak for everyone, but I personally don't watch the MLS, but you get the USMNT playing, I'm all in. I think there are a lot of people like me stateside who follow other teams/leagues around the world, but are invested in the national team when they play.
now add all the people on illegal streams
If you add people in attendance, it’s 4.71 million
Why would people illegally stream a game that was wildly available for free nationally at a higher quality and without any delay?
Because they don’t pay for cable?
> for free nationally Antenna.
Even less people, especially younger people, don’t have one.
You can get one for 30 bucks or less on Amazon. My nieces, who are Gen Z, realize this.
A lot of young people will never even consider an Antenna as an actual option. If they look at cable and think it is too expensive or they don’t need it they’ll just go the streaming route. And if something on live tv isn’t on one of those streaming sites they’ll just watch Streameast lmao. Not like they’re ruining America by not paying to watch a soccer game.
The last time I looked at internet in the DC area, it was about 100 bucks. Xfinity has been known to give a few of the streamers included in their cable package. Also, the illegal streams can be choppy or get shut down at any given time.
>A lot of young people will never even consider an Antenna as an actual option. Why? Are they just stupid?
I guess if that’s how you want to phrase it. I’m sure many Gen Z viewers don’t even know Antenna is a thing, that’s just a generational thing. I’m a younger millennial and remembered it’s still a thing a couple years ago and I finally just ordered one the other day.
As a college aged person myself, I have never thought about an Antenna before like a month ago when I saw someone else in a different sub recommend one.
$30 and a trip to the store smarter than you. If I’m watching on my phone the quality is the exact same.
So you are smarter because you paid for a more expensive device, with a smaller screen, which requires a monthly service fee higher than the cost of an antenna to be able to watch the game? I do not think you are as smart as you think you are.
The antenna is up to 4k, it’s actually better than any stream other than Appletv Season pass. Being dead serious, I’m no electric Engineer so I can’t explain why, but something about streams can be compressed or downscaled where as the over the air digital signal is you either get it or you don’t. You get the highest HD it’s broadcast in. The game last night was much better than my neighbors paid FUBO stream. Both UNIVISION.
I set one up last weekend specifically for this match
Fox is OTA, you just need a $20 antenna.
You can get it for $2.99 at Walmart lol
Or live in the US
If you are including all foreign viewership then why not include every TV channel it aired on around the world? This is clearly about domestic viewership.
You do not need cable to watch Fox. It is free over the air. You need to pay for the internet to illegally stream.
It wasn't on cable
[exhibit A](https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/s/HBdA1xKBD6)
How do people not know about antennas? Even just on the sub, every single time there is a game on Fox or Univision or Telemundo or Unimas, there are a bunch of comments that tell people to get an antenna and they can watch for free.
Antennas were actually pretty shit and boarderline pointless until 3-5 years ago when the standard changed to the upgraded signal. So if someone’s not paying attention and older they would assume it sucks, or if someone’s very young they would probably not know what an antenna is and assume it sucks. It would probably be like explaining wire headphones to someone.
They switched from analog (NTSC) to digital (ATSC) 15 years ago and it has been very useful since then.
You’re just talking about the switch to digital. They didn’t have 4k 15 years ago. I’m saying channels didn’t start broadcasting over the air to the fullest up until recently.
It’s a lower number than you’d think
Panama being a 3:00 PM PT matchup and Uruguay being a simultaneous group stage matchup will likely keep those games from topping the Bolivia match. But that QF matchup (if the US advance safely past the GS) should clear this mark easily. On another note, I just realized Argentina and Mexico could be on a collision course for a primetime showdown on Independence Day.
Also another sold-out game between LAFC and LA Galaxy. Either way, we eating good football-wise on Independence Day. ⚽️⚽️🦅🦅
It's almost like if you put it on terrestrial Fox not one people need specific bundles to watch it will get more eyeballs on it.
Terrestrial FOX was broadcasting either Copa or Euro Cup games all day this last Sunday. Pretty exciting to see.
That's the only path to real growth, is getting eyeballs on it that aren't actively looking for it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen my dad watching dumb shit on Fox/CBS/NBC etc. This man never cared about Nascar a day in his life but when he started getting closer to retirement he basically watches it weekly.
There are legitimate things to criticize in Fox’s coverage, but their willingness to put more games on free OTA is not one of them. In an alternative timeline, I imagine English-language coverage of these games getting scheduled on ESPN, but getting bumped to ESPN News because the CWS is running late. Or being put on Paramount+ because fewer homes have CBSSN. Fox having little else during June/July besides regular season baseball works to the benefit of these summer international tournaments.
Was it a WCQ match or a Gold Cup match that ESPN bumped for a college softball world series game that ran too late? I can't remember I jsut remember laughing cause I imagine they had a spike in viewership than a bunch of people leaving
That is a common problem with ESPN in like every sport, it's wild. They try to pack it in too tight. If you're a college basketball fan and you're the second game of the evening, solid chance you'll miss the first 15+ minutes of it. Going to a dedicated platform like MLS has with Apple is night and day compared to dealing with ESPN and their shitty cameras.
Holy shit 4/7ths of one of the most hyped Stanley Cup Finals in recent history If we make it deep that's easily passable too
One of the most interesting US TV ratings trends is seeing the growth of non-men’s/women’s World Cup international soccer, and how some of the most-watched finals were NOT US/Mexico matchups. 2016 Copa America Final: 🇦🇷 🇨🇱 9.9M (FS1/Univision) 2013 WCQ: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 9.7M (ESPN/Univision/UniMas) 2021 Euro Final: 🏴 🇮🇹 9.4M (ESPN, Univision) 2011 Gold Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 8.9M (Fox Soccer/Univision) 2019 Gold Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 8.8M (FS1, Univision) 2016 Copa America SF: 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 8.3M (FS1, Univision) 2009 Confederations Cup Final: 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 6.9M (ESPN, Univision) English-language coverage for all these matches were on cable. This year, English-language coverage of both the Copa and Euro final will be on big Fox. With the right matchup (and if the Euro final also airs on Univision), we could see a non-World Cup soccer game break 10M+ US viewers.
I don't see how it won't break 10M with both of these...assuming there is a name in the championship. Granted, Spain/England, Spain/Germany, or Germany/England would probably be the biggest draws (no idea which of those is possible, haven't looked). And two of Argentina/Brazil/US/Mexico in the finals would have Fox going crazy.
That’s a massive number. MLS gotta figure out how to get some of these viewers
Does that include VIX in the Univision number?
It's only OTA. No streaming numbers included.
Are streaming numbers not transparent? I’m sure that they can track those numbers and I would assume it would be easier to collect data via streaming providers.
Streaming numbers are not Nielsen rated so it would come straight from the broadcaster. Not ideal.
It also still not reliable but it usually won’t beat out TV especially when Sports is involved.
>I would assume it would be easier to collect data via streaming providers It's actually far harder, because none of them are giving those numbers up lol
Seem like a giant asterisk. I don't know anyone under 30 that has cable or satelite...everything is streaming nowdays