Bayern Munich’s game last Friday against Freiburg was the least-viewed Friday afternoon Bundesliga game on FOX Sports since September, 2016.
The opening game of the second half of the 2016/17 Bundesliga season after the winter break was watched by an audience of just 54,000 people.
The last time a Friday afternoon Bundesliga game got a worse viewing number was the September 16, 2016 game between Koln and Freiburg.
With the Freiburg-Bayern Munich game televised live on FS1 as well as it featuring the most popular Bundesliga team in the United States, the viewing number should have been much larger. On top of that, the game featured the debut of host Kate Abdo as the new face of FOX’s Bundesliga coverage. And last but not least, the Friday 2:30-4:30pm ET broadcast was up against very little competition.
So far this season, the Bundesliga is averaging 78,182 viewers per game on FOX Sports.
While FOX Sports’ coverage of the Bundesliga has improved, the viewing number for the Freiburg-Bayern Munich game is testament to the lack of promotion the network is giving the league. Other than house ads that are played on FOX Sports and messages on social media, FOX Sports is not investing its time or money in promoting the popular German league. The only time it seems that FOX Sports makes an effort is when a game is on the over-the-air FOX network, and even then the amount of promotion that FOX Sports does is nothing compared to ESPN, NBC Sports or even beIN SPORTS.
Sadly, the Bundesliga is stuck in its contract with FOX Sports until 2020.
In better news, the Bundesliga viewing audience on FOX Sports peaked on Sunday when 103,000 viewers tuned in on FS1 and FOX Deportes to watch Bayer Leverkusen against Hertha Berlin.
SEE MORE: Schedule of Bundesliga games on US TV and streaming
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HJ
January 13, 2018 at 9:01 am
The Bundesliga will never catch up to the Premier League. It’s not in the least bit competitive. Everyone knows who will win the league two years in advance. And to make matters worse, they have the most ridiculous team names….numbers??? Also nobody in the US speaks German or really even likes the country. Fox Sports should try with La Liga. People would actually watch some of those matches.
mccort1982
January 28, 2017 at 7:56 am
I am curious why anybody would think the Bundesliga would have great ratings? It’s not as popular as the EPL or even La Liga worldwide, notice I said popular not better, that’s another story. I have lived in a few overseas countries and outside the big matches the Bundesliga was never easy to find. Also I don’t know who you expect to pick it up besides Fox, would Goltv be better? BEin it would take a back seat to Barca and Real Madrid matches just like Serie A does, also Serie A ratings are not good. Why would NBC pick up the Bundesliga and show that instead of EPL matches that are doing well? On ESPN no soccer will ever take the place of College Football or Basketball on Saturdays and Sundays, so who is this that will come save the Bundesliga and get great ratings for the Hoffenheim Mainz match?
NaBUru38
January 28, 2017 at 10:28 pm
Espn airs American footbal talk shows on Saturday and Sunday mornings. But they dont need all their feeds for that.
Klyde
January 26, 2017 at 2:46 pm
Maybe other Bundesliga fans are like me. Tired of the league and Fox force feeding us a steady stream of Bayern. I rush home on Fridays to catch the second half of the matches. When I saw Bayern again I turned it off in disgust.
Fsquid
January 27, 2017 at 7:02 pm
Well you could have looked on the Internet and seen it was Bayern
mccort1982
January 28, 2017 at 7:50 am
You think smaller clubs would have better ratings? That won’t be the case, I get what you mean because I feel the same way but no way is that happening, unless you’re a soccer nerd like us that comments on site like this nobody here in the U.S. cares about an Eintracht Hamburger match, the ratings would be even worse.
TiLoBrown
January 26, 2017 at 12:15 pm
I didnt even know they showed a match
Fsquid
January 26, 2017 at 11:54 am
Sweet, I was in rare company!
Eric
January 26, 2017 at 10:56 am
I am a huge Bundesliga fan and happy that Fox is covering it. However, you do realize that a bigger news story was taking place that day??
Christopher Harris
January 26, 2017 at 11:26 am
I do, but the presidential inauguration was at Noon ET. The Bayern Munich game kicked off at 2:30pm ET.
Eric
January 26, 2017 at 11:31 am
Coverage of the inauguration began early in the morning, well before noon and lasted well into the evening. I would consider a ratings dip on a future Friday game (with a match including a top-level team) more indicative of an viewership problem than using Jan 20th.
Jon
January 26, 2017 at 2:33 pm
Well tbh is there even a overlap between Bundesliga viewers and Trump’s inauguration viewers?