"American Football"? U.S. Soccer Overtakes NBA, NHL in Attendance
U.S. Major League Soccer has eclipsed both the NBA and the National Hockey League in terms of average attendance at games -- a feat that explains why Fox and Telemundo just paid an incredible $1 billion for the rights to broadcast the Word Cup in 2018 and 2022. That price was more than twice what ESPN and Univision paid to broadcast the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
It also explains why NBC has signed on to broadcast football during primetime next season.
Of course, mere attendance at stadia isn't the full measure of a sport's popularity. The indoor arenas of basketball and hockey have structurally smaller audience capacities than the capacious outdoor arenas of football. And percentage attendance at NBA and NHL games tends to be nearer capacity than attendance at soccer. (And then, of course, there's the unsolved mystery of why "sold out" games at certain clubs seem to feature so many empty seats ...)
Nonetheless, it appears that soccer is well on the road to becoming America's third favorite sport, after throwball American football and baseball. That will have a major impact on sports sponsorship and advertising budgets -- providing more media for advertisers to buy and increasing competition between the different sports for sponsor opportunities, such as Adidas's $200 million pact with MLS.
Here's how the most recent attendance numbers break down:
- NFL: 66,960
- MLB: 30,352
- MLS: 17,872
- NBA: 17,319
- NHL: 17,126
MLS is also fairing respectably on the international soccer stage:
- English Premier League: 35,283
- Germany Bundesliga: 42,101
- Spain La Liga: 29,128
- Mexico Primera: 26,722
- Italy Serie A: 24,031
- Argentina Primera: 19,843
- France Ligue 1: 19,650
- Netherlands Eredivisie: 19,116
- Japan J League 1: 18,428
- U.S. Major League Soccer: 17,872
- England League Championship: 17,388
- Brazil Serie A: 14,839
- Germany Bundesliga 2: 14,539
- Scottish Premier League: 13,677
In the next few years, get ready for the definition of "American football" to require a little more clarification.
Related:
- How Groupon May Skew NBC's Deal With Major League Soccer
- Could U.S. Soccer Eclipse Basketball and Hockey? $200M Adidas Pact Suggests Yes