David Beckham’s 12 min stint with the Glaxay was good enough to become the most watched MLS game in history.
Here are the numbers….
ESPN’s telecast of the Chelsea FC at LA Galaxy match, July 21 at 9 p.m. ET, seen in an average of 947,000 television homes (1.468 million, P2+), based on a 1.0 rating, is the most-viewed Major League Soccer telecast ever on ESPN or ESPN2, according to Nielsen Media Research data. The telecast, which featured David Beckham playing for 16 minutes in his first match in a Galaxy uniform despite nursing an ankle injury, was also the most-viewed and highest-rated program of the night on ad-supported cable networks among Men 18-49 and 25-54.
The match beat the previous most-viewed telecast – DC United vs. San Jose Clash on April, 4,1996 – seen in 681,000 homes (1.092 million, P2+), based on a 1.0 rating. The DC United vs. San Jose Clash was the first match in the League’s 12-year history.
David Beckham’s MLS debut also beat the most-viewed U.S. Soccer National Team match (excluding FIFA World Cup tournament) on ESPN or ESPN2. Previously, the most-viewed U.S. National Team telecast was seen in 680,000 homes (915,000, P2+) and 0.9 rating for the Oct. 3, 1997, World Cup qualifying match between
