MLS Cup 2014 delivers second-highest viewership for league championship in MLS history

Jermaine Jones vs. LA Galaxy

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The broadcast of MLS Cup 2014 between the New England Revolution and the LA Galaxy on Sunday, delivered almost two million viewers across English and Spanish language networks. The match, which was broadcast in English on ESPN, and in Spanish on UniMas and Univision Deportes produced the highest viewership for an MLS Cup since 1997.

Nationally, the match delivered 964K viewers on ESPN, which was the third highest viewership on ESPN for MLS Cup. On UniMas and Univision Deportes, the match delivered 923K viewers, which was the highest for MLS Cup ever on Spanish broadcast.

Locally, the game performed well, earning a 3.1 household rating in Boston and a 1.9 rating in Providence.

Before the Revs suffered a 2-1 loss to the Galaxy in extra time on Sunday, they were unbeaten in all nationally televised games in 2014, going 4-0-2 in those six matches. During the regular season, the Revs were 2-0-1 in three matches shown on national television, playing twice on NBC Sports Network and once on ESPN2.

In the MLS Cup Playoffs, the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series against Columbus – a 3-1 Revolution win – was shown on ESPN2 while NBC showed both legs of the Eastern Conference Championship against New York. NBC had the first leg of that series, a 2-1 Revs win at Red Bull Arena on November 23 while NBC Sports Network showed the 2-2 draw in the second leg at Gillette Stadium on November 29, which booked the Revs their first trip to MLS Cup since 2007.