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The 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal on Saturday, Dec. 23, brought in more viewers than any other Premier League game in U.S. history, announced NBC.
A total of 1.96 million viewers tuned in to NBC, Peacock and other NBC Sports Digital platforms to see the top of the table clash.
The mark of 1.96 million English-language viewers surpasses the previous record held by a game between Arsenal and Manchester United on Jan. 22, 2023, which hit viewership numbers of 1.92 million.
Liverpool vs. Arsenal game breaks U.S. viewership records
.@NBCSports presentation of Liverpool-Arsenal on Dec. 23 was the most-watched Premier League match in United States history, averaging 1.96 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital platforms.https://t.co/FA9J1qr4Lx
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) December 27, 2023
https://t.co/vLfqp2jg0t pic.twitter.com/KmMxMg6M3R
— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) December 27, 2023
When the Spanish-language viewers from Telemundo are added the viewership numbers hit 2.28 million.
NBC awkwardly admitted that January’s Arsenal-Manchester United game had 2.31 million viewers when adding English and Spanish viewers… so wouldn’t that one technically have the record for most watched EPL game in U.S. history?
We'll ignore that stat for now.
Peacock only brought in about 25% of the Arsenal-Liverpool viewers which goes to show that airing games on cable still rakes in the viewers.
Nowadays it’s nearly impossible to not have Peacock and follow the Premier League in the U.S. (Unless you’re being sneaky and using an illegal streaming service.)
We’ve come a long way as a nation broadcasting the world’s best soccer. Back in the day it was nearly impossible to find Premier League games on television and there was certainly no way of watching every game.
There’s still a ways to go to compete with the biggest sports in the U.S.
While this whole article is poised as a brag about the growth of soccer, the 1.96 million viewers stat gets dwarfed by the 7.2 million people that tuned in for the Bills vs. Chargers NFL game that was shown exclusively on Peacock that same day.
Soccer has plenty of ground to make up and is unlikely to surpass football in viewership, but new records like the Liverpool vs. Arsenal game prove that the sport has a firm foothold in U.S. sport culture.
