Saturday’s MLS Cup averaged 1,140,000 viewers, making it the most-watched MLS Cup match on ABC and ESPN networks since 2009.

The audience peaked in the final quarter hour (6-6:15 p.m. ET) during a portion of the penalty with 1,630,000 viewers.

The audience was 38 percent higher than the 825,000 viewers who watched Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto FC on ABC in the 2019 MLS Cup, the last Major League Soccer title match on an ESPN network.

New York City FC defeated the Portland Timbers in the tie-breaker, 4-2, after the teams played to a 1-1 deadlock after 120 minutes at Providence Park.

Top five audiences for MLS Cup games on ABC/ESPN since 1999:

Date
MLS Cup Matchup
Network
Viewers (P2+)
Sun, Oct 21, 2001
San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy
ABC
1,500,000
Sun, Nov 12, 2006
Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution
ABC
1,250,000
Sun, Oct 20, 2002
New England Revolution vs. LA Galaxy
ABC
1,170,000
Sun, Nov 22, 2009
Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy
ESPN
1,141,000
Sat, Dec 11, 2021
Portland Timbers vs. New York City FC
ABC
1,140,000

***The audience in this report reflects match windows

Top-10 markets: Philadelphia (1.6), Albuquerque-Santa Fe (1.2), Cincinnati (0.6), Pittsburgh (0.6), Portland, Ore. (0.6), New Orleans (0.5), Orlando (0.5), West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce (0.5), Atlanta (0.5), and Boston (0.5).

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.