Los Angeles, CA (December 18, 2009) – Fox Soccer Channel scored
its highest M18-49 and M25-54 telecast ratings during England’s Barclays
Premier League matches this past weekend with Manchester United vs. Aston
Villa on Saturday, Dec. 12 and the Liverpool vs. Arsenal showdown on Sunday,
Dec. 13.
During the 12:30 p.m. ET telecast of Villa’s 1-0 surprise shutout victory at
Old Trafford, Fox Soccer Channel enjoyed its top M25-54 household rating of
0.9 and secured the second highest total viewership at 329,000 since the
network began daily measurement in October 2008. With Sunday’s 11 a.m. ET
telecast of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Liverpool, Fox Soccer Channel equaled its
highest M18-49 cable rating since October 2008 at 0.9, and earned the
network’s second highest M25-54 match rating at 0.8.
English teams also performed well for Fox Soccer Channel during the
recently-completed UEFA Champions League Group Stage. The network’s
highest-rated live and premiere match telecasts over six matchdays from
September to December both featured Barclays Premier League clubs:
Manchester United vs. Wolfsburg of Germany, live on Wednesday, Sept. 30,
drew 137,000 total viewers, while Chelsea vs. Portuguese side Porto, which
premiered on Tuesday, Sept. 15, delivered 154,000 total viewers to Fox
Soccer Channel.
Non-English heavyweights also drew high ratings throughout the UEFA
Champions League Group Stage. A pivotal live Group C showdown between
Spain’s Real Madrid and Italian power AC Milan on Wednesday, Oct. 21 drew
119,000 total viewers, while the channel’s second-highest rated premiere
match to date in the tournament was French club Olympic Marseille vs. Madrid
on Tuesday, Dec. 8 with an audience of 144,000.
About Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of world-class
soccer available in the United States, serving as the primary television
destination for coverage of England’s Barclays Premier League and the UEFA
Champions League. Matches from Major League Soccer, Italy’s Serie A, Women’s
Professional Soccer, the Argentine First Division and the Australian Hyundai
A-League are also featured prominently, in addition to such global
tournaments as the English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and CONCACAF
Champions League™. The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth
Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises the United Soccer
Leagues and NCAA Division I college men’s and women’s soccer. The
Nielsen-rated channel reaches more than 35 million cable and satellite
households nationwide.
Fox Soccer Channel is one of 28 national and regional programming networks
within Fox Networks Group, an operating unit of the News Corporation
(NYSE:NWS). These broadcast, cable, satellite and telephony delivered
networks reach more than half a billion U.S. television homes, and represent
one of the media industry's most diverse collections of programming
operations. Fox Networks Group consists of FOX Sports, Fox Broadcasting
Company, Fox Cable Networks and Fox Networks Engineering & Operations. For
more information, visit America’s most visited online soccer destination at
foxsoccer.com.
Contact:
Chelsea Hettrick, mPRm Public Relations, 323.933.3399 ext.4261,
chettrick@mprm.com
Ben Alkaly, Fox Soccer Channel, 310.444.8642,
ben.alkaly@fox.com