Soccer-Premier League viewership up 20% among young Americans, Nielsen Sports data shows

The Premier ​League has struck a chord with ​young Americans after the US ‌co-hosted ​this year's World Cup, with viewership for the English top-flight up 20% among those aged 18-34 so far this season, ‌shows data from Nielsen Sports released on Monday.

US broadcasters NBC and the USA Network have drawn an average of half a million viewers for Premier League games this season, marking a ‌3% rise, as the sport's popularity has grown. "The World Cup served as a powerful ‌catalyst, expanding the Premier League’s footprint across a far broader demographic in the US," said Jon Stainer, global GM at Nielsen Sports.

"Our data shows that fandom is not only reaching record highs but it is ⁠also ​expanding rapidly among younger, ⁠diverse audiences and carrying over into major domestic and international leagues." Just over one million Americans watched Tottenham Hotspur's ⁠2-0 home defeat by Newcastle United on August 29, the Premier League's most-watched match in the ​US this season so far.

Spurs have been involved in three of the six ⁠most-watched Premier League games in the US this season, as their 3-0 loss at Brentford and 0-0 home ⁠draw ​with Everton also made the list. Major League Soccer also benefited from the rising exposure of soccer in the lead-up to the World Cup, with interest jumping 23% among ⁠16-34 year olds.

Interest in the World Cup peaked at 87 million fans in July, with ⁠female supporters accounting ⁠for 44% of the total fanbase, according to Nielsen Fan Insights, which collects data from half-hour online surveys with a sample size ‌of 3,000 in ‌the US.