Huge USA Copa America Win Sets Record For Most-Watched Men’s Soccer Match in FS1 History

Los Angeles – The United States’ crucial 4-0 win over Costa Rica in the 2016 COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO: THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE AMERICAS averaged 1.6 million viewers on FS1 Tuesday night, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That ranks as the most-watched men’s soccer match in the network’s history, surpassing 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.

The viewership number also surpasses the USA’s first match of the tournament, when 1.536 million tuned in to the Americans’ 2-0 loss to world No. 3-ranked Colombia on June 3.

Several other metrics for the month-long COPA AMERICA, the biggest men’s tournament held on U.S. soil since the 1994 World Cup, are either setting records or seeing massive boosts over previous soccer competitions.

• The U.S.-Costa Rica rating marked a 54% 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.
• The U.S.-Costa Rica ratings also marked a full 260% rise over the average to date of U.S. Men’s National Team friendlies on FS1 (445,000 viewers).
• Despite the absence of Lionel Messi, Argentina’s June 6 win over Chile drew 862,000 viewers on FS1, setting a new record for the most-watched men’s soccer match in FS1 history that did not include the United States Men’s National Team.
• The U.S.-Costa Rica match also set a record on FOX Sports GO with 100,389 unique viewers, making it the most-watched live stream of a U.S. Men’s National Team match ever on the platform.

Next up for the United States is a do-or-die Group A match against Paraguay, in which a loss will eliminate the Americans before the knockout stage. Coverage begins at 6:00 PM ET live on FS1.

The tournament continues Wednesday with a doubleheader featuring legendary Brazil against upstarts Haiti, with coverage beginning on FS1 at 6:30 PM ET. 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.