Manchester City battles Manchester United on April 12, 2015, in Manchester, England. NBC has built up a lot of good will with soccer fans for their excellent coverage over the years, but some of that good will was lost with the decision to erect a paywall this year. A gap of this magnitude between the two Spanish powerhouses is unusual at this stage of a season but there is also something else a bit different about this Saturday’s game at the Bernabeu in Madrid. Saturday’s kick off time across major cities in Asia is 21:00 in Tokyo, 20:00 in Shanghai, 19:00 in Jakarta, Indonesia, 17:30 in New Delhi, 16:00 in Dubai and 15:00 in Doha. Americans and Canadians root mostly for Arsenal. Big Bash League remain one of the most watched television sports in Australia. The London-based club is one of the best in the league and has been around since the 1880s. (Photo by Alex... [+] Caparros/Getty Images). The real number I think is more likely to be just this side of 100 million. One element that would be interesting to know about in more full detail is the impact of NBC Sports Gold and the controversial decision to move games not televised on the networks of NBC to a pay service. Popularity of the Premier League. https://t.co/jUkEfs7YZb. India is a Manchester United nation. AwfulAnnouncing.com is a Sports fan web site and is in no way affiliated with any media organization, any professional sports league, team, organization, or its Properties. What do Stephen Curry, Rob Reiner and William Shakespeare have in common? Chelsea won the 2012 UEFA Champions League, which consists of the best teams in leagues across Europe. Real Madrid versus Barcelona is known throughout the world as “El Clásico” and it is one of the truly great rivalries in any sport let alone just soccer. Catch it on @abscbn_sports S+A this Saturday night. For those on the east coast of the US, it is a 7:00 kick off but by the time we get to Pacific Standard Time we are looking at 4:00. The reason for the drastic change is La Liga’s attempt to court the soccer market in Asia. © 2020 From the Grapevine. territories worldwide, and an average game is watched by over 12 million people. The average per match audience only increased by 2,000 viewers from 447k to 449k, but that’s still not bad in an age where other sports and television series are fighting to break even year-to-year. It was a season of excellence in the Premier League. As far as the ratings went stateside for this season, NBC also had something to cheer about. This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. 10. Norfolk came in a tie for fifth. It was founded in 1992, and its matches are broadcast in over two hundred territories around the globe. The tweet above is a great example. The 10 best sports movies currently available on Disney+, Here is a list of things that millennials are killing. Since kicking off its Premier League coverage in August 2013, NBC Sports Group has televised the 10 most-watched live Premier League matches ever in the U.S. across all platforms. Football lovers can’t afford to miss watching the games when the season approaches. A few years ago we were told it attracted 400 million viewers, as you can see the number has now climbed to 650 million and one US-based broadcaster who is never short of over-the-top statement or twenty even claimed that 1 billion people watch worldwide. Click the arrow above, right, to see the most watched Premier League matches in the United States all-time. Competition from the NBA did not help the NFL on Thursday night. Here are a few of the more interesting results: Arsenal (in red) plays Reading during the 2015 FA Cup Semi Final in London. Some will come loaded for bear and point to the massive population bases of China and India. The importance of the game has risen significantly in recent years, with City winning the Premier League several times. Israel. Coronavirus pandemic inspires Israeli group to double its humanitarian efforts, World's top math prize goes to 2 retired professors. Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho opens soccer academy in Israel, The world's 5 sexiest accents, according to single men. Chelsea and Manchester United fight for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match on April 18, 2015, in London. The football games played that time create great excitement because they involve the world’s best players. That is unexpectedly high baseline and an astounding increase. Real Madrid won its fifth trophy in 2017 by retaining the Club World Cup last weekend but currently trail Barcelona by 11 points albeit with a game less played in La Liga. Prorate that percentage across the globe and you come up with 134 million and that, in my opinion, is on the high side. Quiz: How much do you know about handshakes? Messi has the edge in La Liga stats since Ronaldo joined in 2009/10. Some will argue with these numbers but generally, they align historically with the overseas TV rights fees generated by these leagues. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. What's more, it is certainly hyperbole of Trump-like proportions. An intriguing study from UEFA's Club Licensing Benchmarking Report shows that The Championship is the third most-watched league in European …