Audience Analysis: ESPN's MLS Cup Final Well Below '14 With Smaller Markets Playing

ESPN finished with 668,000 viewers for the Timbers-Crew MLS Cup final on Sunday afternoon, staying above the record-low audience seen in ’13 for Sporting KC-Real Salt Lake (505,000 viewers). But Timbers-Crew is down 31% from 964,000 viewers for last year’s Galaxy-Revolution finale on ESPN, which marked the final game for Galaxy F Landon Donovan. The MLS Cup first moved to ESPN in '09 after previously airing on ABC. While TV viewership was down, the MLS Cup final saw a record audience on WatchESPN, with the platform delivering 108,000 unique viewers, up from 89,000 last year. Meanwhile, on Spanish-language TV, UniMas and the Univision Deportes simulcast combined to average 506,000 viewers for Timbers-Crew. That figure is down 45% from 923,000 viewers last year, which was a Spanish-language record for MLS.

NOTES: FS Southeast is averaging a 1.41 local rating in Atlanta for Hawks games to date, up 13% from the same period last season. Hawks-Heat on Nov. 3 remains the best audience for the RSN this season to date with a 2.86 rating....ESPN’s “First Take” in November averaged 475,000 viewers, just below October’s record-setting 476,000 viewers. The show has had its three most-viewed months from September through November.

The charts below list final audience figures for recent sports telecasts.