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Research and Ratings

Gold Cup Leads To Big Gains For Fox Soccer In July; NBCSN, ESPN Down From '12

The biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup led Fox Soccer to strong year-over-year gains in July for both total-day and primetime viewership. The net in July '12 was without a major tournament like the Gold Cup and had a slate led by summer club friendlies and MLS matches. For games involving the U.S. squad, Fox Soccer averaged 481,000 viewers for three matches compared to 346,000 viewers for four matches in '11. Meanwhile, on the heels of double-digit percentage drops in Q2, ESPN in July saw an 8% drop in total-day viewership and a 12% drop in primetime compared to the same period in '12. Contributing to the drops was a shift in the Nielsen calendar. ESPN this past month had neither the NBA Draft nor College World Series final -- both of which aired during July '12 on the Nielsen calendar. The net also had a strong presence last July with the UEFA Euro 2012 semifinals and final, as well as strong numbers around pre-Olympic programming. NBC Sports Network and ESPN2 also saw sharp drops in July in both metrics. After seeing record-setting viewership in Q2, Golf Channel saw viewership down in July for both total-day and primetime audience. MLB Network continued to see gains, fueled by increased viewership for games. Primetime viewership for the net was up 14% in July, with total-day up 25%. The net's live games in July averaged 260,000 viewers, up 5% from the same period last year.

Listed below is average viewership for select cable sports networks for the month of July under the Nielsen calendar.

PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP AMONG CABLE SPORTS NETWORKS IN JULY
NETWORK
'13 (000)
'12 (000)
1-YR % +/-
'11 (000)
'10 (000)
'09 (000)
ESPN
1,052
1,200
-12%
1,267
1,502
1,338
ESPN2
244
376
-35%
392
416
382
MLB Network
190
166
14%
173
131
n/a
Speed
183
168
9%
189
195
267
NBC Sports Network
155
233
-33%
203
154
250
Golf Channel
142
154
-8%
120
127
145
NFL Network
106
95
12%
120
76
66
ESPNews
97
119
-18%
90
98
88
Fox Soccer
95
20
375%
33
33
55
NBA TV
78
84
-7%
34
n/a
n/a
Fuel TV
44
47
-6%
14
n/a
n/a
TOTAL-DAY VIEWERSHIP AMONG CABLE SPORTS NETWORKS IN JULY
NETWORK
'13 (000)
'12 (000)
1-YR % +/-
'11 (000)
'10 (000)
'09 (000)
ESPN
729
796
-8%
797
919
700
ESPN2
204
249
-18%
258
266
274
Speed
108
106
2%
114
119
142
NBC Sports Network
97
180
-46%
107
122
158
Golf Channel
96
97
-1%
71
74
84
MLB Network
95
76
25%
74
49
n/a
NFL Network
78
68
15%
81
54
44
ESPNews
66
76
-13%
60
71
68
NBA TV
50
59
-15%
20
n/a
n/a
Fox Soccer
36
12
200%
17
14
24
Fuel TV
27
29
-7%
10
n/a
n/a
 

NOTES: Measurement period for this year was July 1-28, while last year was June 25-July 29. Figures not available for Pac-12 Networks, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, Fox College Sports, Longhorn Network, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, ESPN Deportes, beIN Sport, GolTV, Fox Deportes, Sportsman Channel, Outdoor Network, ESPN Classic and Universal Sports.

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