Orlando City’s controversial 3-2 loss against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday on FS1 garnered 176,000 viewers nationally according to SportsTVRatings.com. The game was down by 14,000 viewers compared to last year’s Orlando City game against Toronto on FS1 at around the same date.
Orlando City’s loss to the Red Bulls was the third least-viewed Orlando City telecast that aired on ESPN,ESPN2, or FS1 in the two years since Orlando City joined the MLS. It is only the fourth time in the two years that a game involving Orlando City garnered less then 200,000 viewers on either FS1 or ESPN family of Networks.
Orlando City’s Lowest Viewed Telecasts that aired on FS1 or ESPN Family Networks
4- Toronto FC at Orlando City, April 26, 2015: 186,000 viewers (Fox Sports 1)
3- Orlando City at New York Red Bulls, April 24,2016 : 176,000 viewers (FS1)
2- Los Angeles Galaxy at Orlando City, May 17, 2015: 172,000 viewers (ESPN2)
1- Sporting KC at Orlando City, September 13, 2015: 91,000 viewers (Fox Sports 1)
Orlando City’s 2-2 draw against New England the week prior was the second most viewed Orlando City game of the season behind only Orlando City’s win over Portland on April 3 on FS1, which garnered 261,000 viewers. Both of those games took place at the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
The game faced very tough competition in the time slot going up against the NBA Playoffs on TNT, NHL Playoffs on NBC Sports Network, and Major League Baseball Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. The game also went up against very popular television shows that garner a lot of viewers in Orlando in AMC’s Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead and HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Still surprisingly Orlando City-New York Red Bulls lost head to head in Orlando to the Cavaliers-Pistons and Hawks-Celtics playoff games in the 18-49 year old demographic in Orlando. Orlando City also lost to Game Four of the Warriors-Rockets series which was the most-watched sporting event of the week in Orlando and nationally was the most watched First Round NBA Playoff game since 2002.
Nationally the game was not helped by the fact the New York Islanders were playing the Florida Panthers in Game Six of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs which perhaps took away some the New York and Florida audiences away from the soccer match. The Islanders’ double-overtime win over the Panthers garnered 649,000 viewers on NBCSN which easily crushed the MLS head to head nationally.
