Oct 5 (Reuters) – The Premier League has struck a chord with young Americans after the US co-hosted this year’s World Cup, with viewership for the English top-flight up 20% among those aged 18-34 so far this season, shows data from Nielsen Sports released on Monday.
US broadcasters NBC and the USA Network have drawn an average of half a million viewers for Premier League games this season, marking a 3% rise, as the sport’s popularity has grown.
“The World Cup served as a powerful catalyst, expanding the Premier League’s footprint across a far broader demographic in the US,” said Jon Stainer, global GM at Nielsen Sports.
“Our data shows that fandom is not only reaching record highs but it is also expanding rapidly among younger, diverse audiences and carrying over into major domestic and international leagues.”
Just over one million Americans watched Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle United on August 29, the Premier League’s most-watched match in the US this season so far.
Spurs have been involved in three of the six most-watched Premier League games in the US this season, as their 3-0 loss at Brentford and 0-0 home draw with Everton also made the list.
Major League Soccer also benefited from the rising exposure of soccer in the lead-up to the World Cup, with interest jumping 23% among 16-34 year olds.
Interest in the World Cup peaked at 87 million fans in July, with female supporters accounting for 44% of the total fanbase, according to Nielsen Fan Insights, which collects data from half-hour online surveys with a sample size of 3,000 in the US.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Kolkata; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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