Chelsea may be in first place, but Manchester City controls their own destiny towards winning the Premier League. And ratings are up for City as the side is having a really superb season. Manchester City is one of the most well known and popular English football teams that’s helping to grow the game at an exponential rate in America.
Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, which sent the Spanish side to the quarterfinals of the tournament, scored 420,000 viewers, making it the most-watched soccer/world football match in Fox Sports 1 history. Fox is televising more Premier League games, helped by the launch of Fox Sports 1. NBC bought up the Premier League rights for the U.S. and their aggressive push is leading to Americans embracing world football/soccer than ever before.
Tuesday’s matchup featuring defending champions Bayern Munich and Barclays Premier League team Arsenal also delivered high numbers. The 363,000 viewers were enough to secure the third most-watched UEFA Champions League match to date on the network, behind Barcelona-Manchester City’s 395,000 on February 18.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on multiple news talk radio stations. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows The Sports Bank on Twitter (@paulmbanks) you should too