USA/Mexico Viewership Lowest Since 2005

Last week’s USA/Mexico soccer friendly was the least-watched meeting between the sides in at least a decade.

Last Wednesday’s United States/Mexico men’s soccer friendly earned a combined audience of 3.6 million viewers across UniMás, Univision Deportes Network and Fox Sports 1, down 27% from the rivals’ lone match last year, which aired on UniMás and ESPN (4.9M).

The telecast ranks as the least-watched USA/Mexico match of any kind in at least ten years (13 telecasts). The previous low over that span was 4.7 million for a 2009 World Cup qualifier that aired on Telemundo and mun2 (now NBC Universo).

On Fox Sports 1 in particular, the match had 806,000 viewers — the network’s most-watched soccer match ever according to Soccer America, but down 25% from last year’s USA/Mexico match on ESPN (1.1M). Viewership was the lowest for the rivalry on an English-language network since 2012, when another friendly drew 797,000 on ESPN2.

Despite the lower numbers, the friendly was easily the top sporting event on a night that featured the end of the NBA season and the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It topped all-but-two NBA games during the 2014-15 regular season, with the caveat that those games aired on only one national network.

UPDATE 10/13: Univision Deportes Network audience likely included in UniMas totals.

Viewership For USA/Mexico Matches Since 2005
* Fox Soccer was not Nielsen rated at the time of the match
** ESPN2 viewership was unavailable

(This year’s numbers from Soccer America)