Soccer on American Television … It’s Bigger than American Idol!

Well, according to Univision, it is in Houston when Mexico is playing the USA in a World Cup qualifier for South Africa 2010 and the Spanish language network is airing the game live! This tells you a lot of what you need to know about televised soccer in the USA and the focus of the business dollars that drive it. First, that Spanish language television has been a dominant and consistent force in driving soccer forward as a TV product in the USA and second, that the World Cup itself has been the catalyst for soccer’s growth as a televised sport across all markets. The match referred to above was USA versus Mexico World Cup Qualifier played in Columbus Ohio, February 2009, which drew a record-breaking average of 5.9 million Hispanic viewers, beating out “American Idol” in Houston and running it close in other key Hispanic markets. That 5.9 million audience represented close to 20 percent of the US Mexican population, numbers that would be impressive for any soccer nation. The same game on ESPN attracted 1.2 million English language viewers, which for soccer represented a very strong audience (higher than both a National Hockey League playoff game and Tennis Grand Slam event). Although in the grand scheme of ESPN television ratings this represented only a small percentage of the overall American population and certainly not a “must see” blockbuster sporting event, this one example highlights the reason why advertisers are prepared to commit millions of dollars to Hispanic coverage of soccer and in particular World Cup coverage, understanding the singular passion of its audience and the incredible depth of its support for the Mexican Team and Mexican Soccer.