European soccer leagues post strong opening viewership. Will World Cup bump last?

Soccer matches from La Liga and the Premier League posted strong viewership to open the 2026-27 season after a successful World Cup this summer.

In La Liga on Sunday, Elche CF vs. FC Barcelona averaged 1 million viewers on ABC. That is the most-watched English-language La Liga match ever on ESPN’s networks. The previous day, RCD Espanyol vs. Real Madrid averaged 811,000 viewers, which is the second-most-watched English-language La Liga match on ESPN.

Additionally, on NBC and Peacock Saturday, Brentford-Tottenham Hotspur averaged 1.2 million viewers. That’s up 16% from Wolverhampton Wanderers-Manchester City last season, and the second-most-watched Premier League opening weekend Saturday match ever.

Unsurprisingly, this viewership pales in comparison to the highs from the World Cup. The final of which was watched by 42.5 million viewers in English, and 66.4 million when including Spanish audiences in the United States.

It would be wrong to read this as soccer not receiving any World Cup bump. ABC’s viewership, especially for soccer, is incredibly strong in the United States. Elche-FC Barcelona viewership was on par with that of El Clásico (Real Madrid-FC Barcelona) last May, a much higher-profile matchup. Overall last season, La Liga matches averaged 91,000 viewers across ESPN’s linear networks, which include ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.

However, it is also good to temper expectations for soccer’s rising popularity in the US. While viewership for the end of the World Cup rivaled that of NFL playoff games, that does not mean soccer itself is as popular as the NFL.

The question for these European soccer leagues is whether they can sustain this success as the year progresses. The Premier League has been the dominant European league in recent years in terms of viewership in the United States. So, a key metric to watch will be the average La Liga linear viewership.

Viewership on ABC last weekend was up dramatically compared to the full-season average. If the network can keep that up, even if the average ends up being more like 250,000 viewers with more cable games later in the season, that will be a great sign for soccer in the United States.

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