In a historic moment for Mexican football, Club America clinched the first-ever consecutive treble in Apertura/Clausura history during the Liga MX Apertura playoff final against Monterrey. The first leg of this monumental match, played on Thursday, December 12, averaged 1.63 million viewers across Univision and TUDN. The second leg saw an even better turnout with an average of 2.02 million viewers tuning in on Sunday, December 15.
However, despite these impressive numbers and landmark achievements, there has been a noticeable decline in Liga MX viewership since 2023. According to sports media analyst Larry Johnson, the Premier League has been consistently attracting more viewers than Liga MX on U.S. television and streaming platforms since 2023.
For instance, while the second leg of the playoff final between Club America and Monterrey attracted over two million viewers; it was still less than the number who watched a similar match in December 2023 (between Club America and Tigres UANL). That playoff final had drawn as many as a Liverpool versus Manchester United match earlier that day - approximately 2.21 million people.
Moreover, regular season games from Premier League have also shown strong performance; for example Chelsea vs Manchester City this past August averaged around same number of views across NBC, Telemundo and Peacock.
Closer look at declining numbers
In a detailed analysis of the viewership statistics, Larry Johnson from Helltown Beer compared Univision’s coverage of both Liga MX and Premier League matches between the years 2022 and 2023. His findings revealed some interesting trends. In 2022, the average Univision viewership for Liga MX, Mexico's top-flight football league, stood at around 900k. The Premier League during this period drew slightly fewer viewers on NBC or USA Network, with numbers just shy of 800k.
However, a shift was observed in the following year. In 2023, while the Premier League managed to maintain a relatively flat viewership averaging around 700k; Liga MX saw a significant drop in its audience base. The Mexican league's average viewership plummeted to just over 600k on Univision - indicating a substantial decrease of about 30%. This decline underscores an alarming trend for Liga MX as it struggles to retain its viewer base against competing leagues like the Premier League.
Comparing viewership between Liga MX and Premier League isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison due to structural differences between the two leagues. Unlike Premier League's open-league system where every team plays each other once at home and once away in a 38-game season, Liga MX features playoff games.
Factors contributing to decline
The recent decline in Liga MX viewership can be attributed to several decisions made by the league's executives that have upset fans of Mexican soccer. These include the abolition of promotion and relegation, which has disrupted the competitive nature of the league and diminished opportunities for lower-tier teams. Additionally, launching the Leagues Cup with Major League Soccer (MLS), where none of the games are played in Mexico, has been met with criticism as it appears to sideline Mexican fans.
Lastly, Liga MX executives' failure to secure a league-wide media rights deal has also contributed to this decline. Such a deal could have ensured equal distribution of resources among all teams and promoted wider coverage for fans across different platforms. These collective decisions indicate an oversight on part of Liga MX authorities regarding fan preferences and market dynamics, leading to dissatisfaction among its audience base and consequently declining viewership numbers.
While both leagues offer unique experiences for football fans worldwide, it is clear that recent trends show an increasing preference for Premier League over Liga MX among U.S audiences. It remains crucial for Mexican football authorities to address these issues promptly if they hope to regain their lost audience base.
