Beckham by the (ESPN) numbers
The ESPN tallywankers are calling its telecast of the Galaxy-Chelsea exhibition on Saturday, where David Beckham happened to play for the last dozen or so minutes, the most-viewed Major Soccer League telecast on either ESPN or ESPN2. Imagine if it was truely an MLS contest, and not one that just involved an MLS team.
Some 947,000 million homes, based on a 1.0 rating, was the final count that TV types like to suck on and analyze.
A 1.0 rating in cable land is probably just a little more than what an NHL game would bring. Or probably in the range of the Hot Dog Eating Contest, if you need the proper context.
The Sports Business Daily also notes that "MLS Primetime Thursday" telecasts on ESPN2 have averaged 0.2 Nielsen rating this season. To date on ESPN, MLB telecasts have averaged a 1.5 through 41 games and NASCAR Busch Series races have averaged a 1.5 rating through 15 races, while the NBA averaged a 1.1 Nielsen rating for 71 regular-season telecasts
ESPN says Beckham's debut 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 original overnight rating was a 1.2.
The previous best was 681,000 homes with a 1.0 rating for D.C. United vs. San Jose on April 4, 1996, the first MLS match in history.
Beck's game was also the most-viewed U.S. soccer national team match (excluding FIFA World Cup tournament) on ESPN or ESPN2. Previously, the most-viewed was a 0.9 rating for the Oct. 3, 1997, World Cup qualifying match between Jamaica and the U.S. on ESPN.
The next ESPN2 telecast of the Galaxy is Thursday, Aug. 9 at D.C. United.
So now we have a starting point to see where Beckham's TV appeal will go from here over the next five years. Or perhaps beyond?