The Champions League for our region (CONCACAF) resumes this evening and the impossible may be as possible as ever. Mexican Primera side Toluca travels to Columbus in a quarterfinal two-leg aggregate knockout round. Major League Soccer sides tend to hold their own against non-Mexican competition, but against our southerly neighbors it hasn't been a contest.

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Editor's note: As a follow-up to the recent article about ESPN2's number of viewers for Premier League games it has shown so far this season, I asked EPL Talk readers if anyone would be interested in analyzing the data more closely. New York City resident LD Montejo responded to the call and has produced these very eyeopening observations and charts below.

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It's been several weeks since I've shared the Nielsen Ratings with you for the latest Premier League games televised live on ESPN2, so there's plenty of news to cover.

Overall, what is very evident is that the 10am ET timeslot on ESPN2 garners much higher ratings than the 7:45am ET one.

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ESPN2 received some good news Friday when the Premier League announced the list of games that have had their kickoff times moved to be shown during key television times.

During April, ESPN2 will televise what many believe will be the Premier League title decider between Manchester United and Chelsea on Saturday, April 3 at 7:45am ET.

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To Whom it May Concern,

The United States has hosted the Winter Olympics on four occasions at three sites. Two of those sites the people of NBC have determined don't deserve to see the Olympics live on NBC. Neither Utah, nor California will be able to get live results on television in the USA, two states with HUGE Olympic history are being ignored by a programming decision.

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This is not the complete schedule for Sounders FC. Most of you know that, but I should remind you that there will be the US Open Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League as well as 3 friendlies tagged onto the following schedule.

It is notable to me that though 1/3 of all league matches are on TV this year, only 9 will be of Sounders.

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It's been a while since I've had a chance to share the TV ratings for ESPN2's coverage of the Barclay's Premier League 2009-2010 season, so here are the most recent ratings from late December 2009 through last week.

The new ratings are bolded. See below.

Nielsen Ratings for Premier League Games on ESPN2: August through January 16, 2010:

1. Liverpool v Aston Villa, 8/24/2009, Monday, 3pm ET, 398,391 viewers
2. Portsmouth v Manchester United, 11/28/2009, Saturday, 10am, 396,995
3. Wigan v Man United, 8/22/2009, Saturday, 10am, 374,799
4. Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/31/2009, Saturday, 8:45am, 325,187
5. Manchester City v West Ham United, 9/28/2009, Monday, 3pm, 293,600
6. Portsmouth v Burnley, 12/5/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 278,078
7. Portsmouth v Liverpool, 12/12/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 276,160
8. Stoke City v Liverpool, 1/16/2010, Saturday, 7:45am, 273,000
9. Portsmouth v Everton, 9/26/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 270,927
10. Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur, 10/3/2009, Saturday, 10am, 265,508
11. Tottenham v Sunderland, 11/7/2009, Saturday, 10am, 259,831
12. Chelsea v Burnley, 8/29/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 253,934
13. Liverpool v Burnley, 9/12/2009, Saturday, 10am, 253,779
14. Aston Villa v Manchester City, 10/5/2009, Monday, 3pm, 248,956
15. Birmingham City v Chelsea, 12/26/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 246,000
16. Liverpool v Manchester City, 11/21/2009, Saturday, 7:45am, 236,247
17. Wolves v Manchester City, 12/28.

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If you've watched a lot of Premier League football on television this season, you've seen plenty of matches involving Burnley and Portsmouth in addition to the Big Four and other teams. Surprisingly, the games involving Burnley and Portsmouth have done quite well in the TV ratings game as we again see from last weekend's match between Portsmouth and Liverpool, which was shown on ESPN2.

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Hopefully that title got your attention. The match-ups have been drawn and the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 is set. Using our Top 25 ranking as a guide, we will tell you in no uncertain terms exactly who will advance to the quarterfinals. This process has worked out brilliantly for us in the past, so why not go to the well once more? Click to continue reading...

We have not actively covered the NASL/USL/TOA dispute over the second division of American Soccer. However, we do believe that it is definitely a subject of significant interest to American Soccer fans. Lower division soccer aids in the development of American players, provides more exposure to the game in communities without MLS teams and provides the backdrop to Open Cup.

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Maybe it was the World Cup Draw bounce or a nice lift from the previous weekend's Manchester United game, but the Nielsen Ratings for last weekend's match between Portsmouth and Burnley, far from being two popular teams in America, achieved the sixth highest rating of the 2009-2010 Premier League season thus far.

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Apologies to all readers who thought this was related to English football, well it is not. Still, I thought this was really a headcase story that I wanted to share.
The Belfast Telegraph reported that the popular American football finale, the Super Bowl will have a spin-off known as the Lingerie Football League! Click to continue reading...

This week, Jason and Zach review the MLS Cup Final, discuss the return of the NASL name for America's second division, and talk to Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch regarding the MLS CBA...

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The USA TV ratings for the Western Conference Final of the Los Angeles Galaxy v Houston Dynamo is now the highest ever on ESPN2. The rating is good news for the league who is showing the benefits of having David Beckham and the Galaxy in the playoffs. With the MLS Cup Final coming up on Sunday in a primetime spot and on ESPN (instead of ESPN2), the league could hope for a 1.

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Greetings, Dynamo fans. As we are all well aware, our beloved Orange fell short of the 2009 championship. It was a valiant effort against David Beckham and the LA Galaxy. Watching from Houston, the Dynamo played well on Friday night, but early Saturday was a different story.

As midnight passed, LA took advantage of two costly fouls by Ricardo Clark.

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Pity poor Don Garber.
No, not because he has to put up with reporters all the time; he handles himself pretty well amongst the unwashed, freeloading, neck-plastic wearing keyboard bangers of the world:
YouTube- Don Garber comments nd gets into shouting match with reporter YouTube- Don Garber comments nd gets into shouting match with reporter
But so far, the Conference Championship weekend, one of the biggest TV ratings grabs of the MLS season, has been, if not a disaster then the next best thing to it. Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Sports Media Watch for this nugget:

ESPN2 averaged a 0.2 U.S. rating and 254,000 viewers for its first two MLS Playoff telecasts. In particular, Dynamo/Sounders on October 29 drew a 0.2 and 274,000, while Galaxy/Chivas USA on November 1 drew a 0.1 and 233,000.

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The Nielsen Ratings are in for ESPN2's biggest match of the season thus far featuring the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Approximately 325,187 viewers watched the game in the United States which represents the third highest viewing figures for ESPN2's coverage of the 2009-2010 Premier League season thus far.

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If you haven't heard, some soccer on TV ratings came out yesterday. FSC, America's preeminent all-soccer broadcaster, became Nielsen-rated just about a year ago. Since then, the network's ratings...

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Fox Soccer Channel's TV ratings for the past year have been released, which reveal how many viewers the channel has been getting for Premier League, Serie A, Major League Soccer and other leagues and programs.

Fox Soccer Channel began being rated by Nielsen on October 1, 2008, so it's perfect timing to reflect how the numbers for Premier League coverage have grown by 69% in the past 12 months.

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The Barclays Premier League may be the most popular sports league in the world, but it is not the most popular football league in the United States. That distinction would fall to the Mexican League. But now, we have empirical data that the EPL is trailing our own top flight domestic league, Major League Soccer in interest, awareness and support.

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It's no surprise that last Saturday's Wolverhampton Wanderers against Aston Villa tie didn't garner a massive audience on ESPN2. In fact, it was the third lowest viewed match of the season on ESPN2.

Here are the Nielsen ratings for the Premier League matches televised by ESPN2 so far this season (from highest to lowest audience figures):

1. Liverpool v Aston Villa, Mon.

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Fox Soccer Channel will be televising the Liverpool against Manchester United game scheduled for October 25 at 10am ET.

Up until now, we weren't sure whether Setanta Sports or Fox Soccer Channel would show the game, but the game is now listed on Fox Soccer Channel's TV schedule. Following the game, FSC will show West Ham United versus Arsenal at Noon ET.

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The Nielsen Ratings for ESPN2's most recent Premier League match have been released. For the October 3rd game between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, the network achieved a 0.2 rating with an audience of approximately 265,508 viewers.

The Bolton against Spurs game garnered the fifth highest Premier League TV ratings for ESPN2.

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Now that the United States team has qualified for the 2010 World Cup, the agonizing wait begins until the final draw is held on December 4, 2009. The draw will be beamed around the world, and we'll finally be able to learn which countries will be grouped against each other next summer in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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Yesterday, the Premier League announced which December matches have had their kickoff times rescheduled so they can be shown on television worldwide. Even though Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports and ESPN haven't announced which games they'll show for that month, I've been able to deduce which games will be shown on US television by matching up the network's schedules with when the games are shown.

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So much of the focus for the opening of the 2009/2010 season of football has been on the Premier League that it's about time we pay respect and focus on how ESPN's TV ratings are doing for its coverage of La Liga.

Here are the Nielsen Ratings thus far for La Liga games shown between August 31 and September 22, 2009:

1. Barcelona v Sporting Gijon, ESPN, Monday, Aug.

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Nielsen Ratings have released the latest TV ratings for Premier League matches on ESPN2. With the TV ratings now available for August and September, 2009, here are the top 8 most viewed matches on ESPN2:

1. Liverpool v Aston Villa, Mon., Aug. 24, 3 pm, 398,391 viewers
2. Wigan v Man United, Sat.

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After just one month of the 2009-2010 Premier League season, ESPN2 has generated an average viewing audience of 274,128 according to Nielsen Ratings.

The ratings are impressive thus far given the fact that no two heavyweight teams have faced each other on ESPN2 as of yet. The first massive match-up to be aired on ESPN2 will be the October 31st clash between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

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Who may have the biggest smile because of ESPN2's Premier League coverage? It's Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports.

With more Americans being introduced to the EPL via the very accessible ESPN2, newly adopted football supporters will be clamoring for more of the quality Premier League football on display.

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TV Rules

The number one item that should be on the agenda for MLS officials should be has to be the preservation of the TV rights contracts.

Why do I believe that TV holds the future of MLS in its grasp? Because it's already saved the league once. And as of now, it could be argued that the contracts might not even be extended at the current price, or not extended at all(unlikely).

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Nielsen have revealed the TV ratings for last Saturday's broadcast of the Chelsea against Burnley game which was televised by ESPN2.

The early Saturday morning kickoff generated a 0.2 rating and was watched in 197,856 households across the United States. The total viewing audience for that game was 253,934.

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TV ratings for Major League Soccer in the United States are doomed. Why? Because most soccer fans such as ourselves have been programmed to watch European football. Let me explain.

On a typical weekend or weekday, European football matches kick off in the morning or mid-afternoon.

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With news of the remarkable TV ratings the English Premier League has achieved on ESPN2 this past Saturday morning and Monday afternoon, comes the question again about MLS' TV strategy and viability. Both games which were timed oddly for the US TV audience outdrew every MLS primetime telecast this season on ESPN2 that has not included the expansion Seattle Sounders.

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Earlier today I wrote a post breaking the news that ESPN had garnered the highest ratings for a Premier League game in US history with a viewing audience of 374,799 for last weekend's Wigan against Manchester United broadcast. Well, I spoke too soon. That record has now been smashed by Monday's TV ratings for ESPN2's coverage of Liverpool against Aston Villa.

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Dom Kinnear, and the Houston Dynamo have done it again. In an era when MLS struggles to keep talented players in the league, and continues to sign over the hill, washed up foreign stars, Houston stands above the rest.

In signing Luis Angel Landin, the Dynamo have brought to MLS precisely the type of player that no other team has in several years.

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The TV ratings are in for ESPN2's opening game of the 2009/2010 Premier League season, which featured Chelsea against Hull City. And the results are pretty decent especially considering that EPL Talk didn't break the news until 7:46pm ET on the night before the game. Plus, the fact that the game kicked off at 7:45 ET on a Saturday morning.

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A larger number of press than usual at USMNT camp today in Miami which tells us about the attention this "summer of soccer" has created.

Several of the media members present are attending training here in Miami tomorrow morning and then flying to Mexico City for game. Several others are staying in this area to cover the game off of Television.

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Gale Agbossoumonde will not be going overseas just yet. Two days after USL-1 rival Puerto Rico Islanders advanced in the Champions League, Miami FC has upgraded its squad just before making the trip to face the Islanders.

Miami FC today signed the US U-20 team Central Defender who should fill in a key role as a defender for Thomas Rongen's side in the upcoming U-20 World Cup.

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Was Tigres' penalty-kick win over Chicago in last night's SuperLiga championship game the end of the line for the summer money-grab tournament?

Thanks to a (cough cough) paid crowd of 20,000 at TOYOTA Park (biggest for a final in the short history of the tournament), overall attendance for the 2009 version of the event matching MLS and MFL teams got a bit of a boost, but the numbers are still way down from 2007:

Year G Total Average 2007 15 247,251 16,483 2008 15 195,390 13,026 2009 15 135,882 9,059 TOTAL 45 578,523 12,856

Having the home field for every game, MLS teams went 12-8-9 against their Mexican counterparts in the three years (losing two of three finals in penalties).

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