LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Mix Diskerud #10, Gyasi Zardes #20, Miguel Ibarra #19, Jozy Altidore #17 and Clint Dempsey #8 of the USA celebrate Dempsey's goal against Panama during the international men's friendly match at StubHub Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The USA defeated Panama 2-0. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Mix Diskerud #10, Gyasi Zardes #20, Miguel Ibarra #19, Jozy Altidore #17 and Clint Dempsey #8 of the USA celebrate Dempsey's goal against Panama during the international men's friendly match at StubHub Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The USA defeated Panama 2-0. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
COPA AMERICA OPENER SECOND MOST-WATCHED MEN’S SOCCER MATCH IN FS1 HISTORY
The United States’ opening match in the 2016 COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO: THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE AMERICAS, a 2-0 loss to world No. 3 ranked Colombia on Friday night, averaged 1.536 million viewers on FS1 according to Nielsen fast nationals.
That ranks as the second most-watched men’s soccer match in the network’s history, just 25,000 viewers behind the 2015 CONCACAF CUP (1.561 million viewers), the one-match winner-take-all playoff between arch rivals Mexico and the United States for a coveted spot in the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup, the prolific World Cup warm-up tournament FOX Sports will air next summer from Russia.
With the month-long COPA AMERICA the biggest men’s tournament held on U.S. soil since the 1994 World Cup, the viewership numbers also marked a massive boost over recent U.S. Men’s National Team contests on the network, including:
- A 48% bump over the average for the U.S. group stage matches in last summer’s prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup (1.036 million average), also held in America.
- A full 245% rise over the average to date of U.S. Men’s National Team friendlies on FS1 (445,000 viewers).
Friday’s match also ranked as the most-watched live stream of a U.S. Men’s National Team match in FOX Sports GO history, attracting more than 85,000 unique streamers.
Next up for the United States is a potentially must-win Group A match against regional rivals Costa Rica, set to air on FS1 in prime time on Tuesday, June 7 (8:00 PM ET), live from Soldier Field in Chicago.
The tournament continues Saturday with a triple-header on local FOX stations, FS1 and FS2, including the tournament debut of legendary Brazil. A full broadcast schedule can be found here.
FOX Sports televises all 32 matches of what is the biggest, most prestigious men’s soccer tournament hosted on American soil since the 1994 FIFA World Cup, live from 10 nationwide venues from June 3 to June 26. FS1 is scheduled to carry 21 matches, with four airing on the FOX broadcast network. FX, FOX’s widely distributed general entertainment channel, is slated to televise two quarterfinal matches and the Third Place match, with four group stage games appearing on FS2. Every contest is available on recently updated FOX Sports GO and FOX Soccer 2Go mobile apps and on desktop computers via FOXSportsGO.com.
