Sunday was one of the biggest days ever for EPL coverage in the U.S., as ESPN and four of the Fox networks showcased the league's "Survivor Sunday." ESPN2 topped all of telecasts on the league's final day with 600,000 viewers for its broadcast of EPL club Manchester City's title-clinching match against Queens Park Rangers. Among the telecasts on the Fox family of networks, which all ran head-to-head, FX' Manchester United-Sunderland match led the way with 231,000 viewers. Also on Sunday, ESPN2's EPL coverage served as a lead-in to its MLS action, and the Red Bulls-Union match that afternoon on ESPN2 drew 275,000 viewers. For the '11-12 EPL season, ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 321,000 viewers over its 48 games. Below are available figures for soccer games telecast last Sunday (THE DAILY).
| VIEWERSHIP FOR EPL "SURVIVAL SUNDAY" MATCHES ON U.S. TV* |
| MATCH | NET | VIEWERS (000) |
| Queens Park Rangers-Manchester City | ESPN2 | 600 |
| Sunderland-Manchester United | FX | 231 |
| Queens Park Rangers-Manchester City | ESPN Deportes | 189 |
| Sunderland-Manchester United | Fox Deportes | 167 |
| Tottenham Hotspur-Fulham | Fox Soccer | 75 |
| Chelsea-Blackburn | Speed | 53 |
| West Bromwich-Fulham | FSN | 59 |
| Swansea City-Liverpool | Fuel TV | 42 |
| | | |
CHART NOTES: * = Figures not available for matches on Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer.com, Fox Soccer 2Go.
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Kweder said Man City-QPR match raised interest
level of soccer amongst ESPN's audience |
A SUPER SUNDAY: Manchester City's surprising win was a hit for ESPN, which has one year remaining in its three-year deal to broadcast EPL games. ESPN Senior Dir of Programming & Acquisitions Brian Kweder spoke with SportsBusiness Journal's Christopher Botta about the impact of the Manchester City match on the network:
Q: Was it a lay-up to take the Queens Park Rangers-Manchester City match?
Kweder: Through our Barclay’s Premier League sub-license with Fox, we had the first choice in the pick process for the final day of the season. We didn’t have to make our pick until the Sunday before, so we knew it was Man City’s title to win or lose and we were confident that was the game to pick. We thought we put ourselves in position, with this contract, to get quality games. Fox also gets quality games, so it’s a win-win for both networks. We were fortunate, the way the cards fell, by getting the championship-clinching match.
Q: The reaction shots from the Manchester United game, showing the team’s and fans’ shock when Manchester City came back to win, was that always part of the agreement?
Kweder: We didn’t have live, in-progress look-ins, but once the games were over, both broadcasts had the right to go to the other stadiums for reaction. If Manchester United had won, we would have had the option of going to the site briefly to see them celebrate.
Q:There has been a lot of discussion about how much that game has meant for soccer. How much does it mean for soccer on ESPN?
Kweder: ESPN’s soccer acumen has reached new highs with the success of the World Cup in '10 and Women’s World Cup in '11. This game -- you saw it all over "Sportscenter," you saw it all over “PTI,” it was on “SportsNation” and was a top story on our Bottom Line all day. It definitely raised the interest level in the sport more than most of the games that we have done.
Q: What was your reaction when you heard Ian Darke, your play-by-play announcer, say it was the greatest league game he had ever seen?
Kweder: Amazing. We used Ian’s call at our Upfront in N.Y. on Tuesday, at the very head of our presentation to all the advertisers across the country. So that shows the value of what Ian delivered and what that game delivered for soccer fans.
Q: The EPL match turned out to be a dream lead-in for your broadcast of the N.Y. Red Bulls match in Philadelphia against the Union.
Kweder: No question. It exposed Major League Soccer to a wider soccer audience. We already get a good crossover from international fans to MLS, but this gave us a tremendous opportunity to capture the audience and let them sample what we believe is a great soccer product in the U.S. We scheduled the Red Bulls-Union game there by design, to take advantage of the final day of the Barclay’s Premier League.
Q: It could just as easily have been 3-0 Man City at halftime. You would have had the title celebration, but not much of game. Did the entire event exceed your expectations?
Kweder: It goes beyond that. We could have had a dead rubber. The title could have been clinched in a previous week, and then we have a game that doesn’t mean as much. The closeness of the game, the two goals scored in extra time, everyone stayed with the game from the beginning, through the celebration and into our MLS coverage. It could not have worked out better (Christopher Botta, SportsBusiness Journal).
BIG NUMBERS ACROSS THE POND: The GUARDIAN's John Plunkett noted Sky Sports averaged "more than 3 million viewers watching Manchester City clinch the title" on the BSkyB pay-TV channel on Sunday. Sky Sports 1 also showed the game, averaging 1.72 million viewers. Sister Channel Sky Sports 2, which "screened title rivals Manchester United's 1-0 win over Sunderland averaged 672,000 viewers" (GUARDIAN, 5/14).
