Television viewership for Fox’s linear coverage of the 2024 Major League Soccer Cup Final fell by nearly half year-on-year, according to reports. This significant drop in ratings is believed to be due, in part, to strong competition from college football.
The 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Final, contested between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls, averaged a viewership of 468,000 on Fox and Fox Deportes. This figure represents a significant drop of 47% from the previous year's game between the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles FC.
Furthermore, the English language audience for this final on Fox was surprisingly lower than CBS’s coverage of the final of the second-tier USL; with Fox garnering an audience size of 427,000 compared to CBS's 431,000. To put these figures into perspective, before Apple TV's deal with MLS came into effect - which shifted many viewers to streaming platforms - the final MLS Cup achieved an impressive viewer count of 2.16 million on traditional broadcasters ABC and Univision.
Apple TV+ exclusive global streaming rights
Apple TV+ holds exclusive global streaming rights for MLS games thanks to its $2.5 billion ten-year deal. Despite this arrangement allowing Fox to show an average of 34 regular season games and eight playoff ties each season for mainstream exposure purposes; there were concerns that this groundbreaking deal would pull MLS games away from traditional broadcasters making it more challenging to attract new fans.
The decline in ratings could have been influenced by several factors including Apple’s own coverage of the final as well as stiff competition from college football - most notably during SEC championship game. Last year's audience had relatively little competition compared with this year which may explain some degree of rating fluctuation.
The fact that teams contesting in this championship were from two biggest media markets - Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls, and are two of the league’s original franchises, makes this decline a matter of concern for MLS.
Unknown Apple TV+ ratings
While it's possible that the ratings on Apple TV were excellent and there is no cause for concern, we simply don't know. Neither Apple nor MLS have provided detailed information about viewership or subscription figures. This lack of transparency leaves a gap in understanding the full picture of MLS viewership trends.
While competition from college football and the shift to streaming platforms like Apple TV+ may have contributed to Fox's drop in ratings for the 2024 MLS Cup Final; without comprehensive data from all broadcasting sources it's difficult to fully assess these impacts. It would be beneficial if companies like Apple could provide more detailed viewership statistics to help paint a clearer picture moving forward.
