2019 MLS All-Star Game Ratings Tank On FS1

The 2019 MLS All-Star Game averaged only 182,000 viewers for its English-language coverage on FS1, the smallest audience for the game on any network over the last decade and the smallest English-language TV audience in the 24-year history of the event. That number is down 60% from 2018 (452K on ESPN) and 57% from 2017 (420K on FS1).

Atlético Madrid won the match 3-0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 25,527 at Exploria Stadium. 

There are a number of factors playing into the historically low rating, including a 40-minute delay due to inclement weather in Orlando and the fact that Atlético Madrid just isn’t as big of a draw as the All-Star’s more recent opponents (Arsenal in ’16, Real Madrid in ’17 and Juventus in ’18).

And it’s not all terrible news for the league: The total viewership across UniMas, Univision Deportes and FS1 was 808,000 viewers, and viewership on UniMas and Univision Deportes averaged 626K (a 26% increase on last year).

Regardless, it was the smallest combined audience for the game since 2013 (616K watched the All-Stars play Roma in Kansas City), but the English-language audience of that match on ESPN2 was 319K.  

Two years ago, a combined audience of 2.1 million — including 1.48M on Univision/UDN — watched the All-Stars play Real Madrid, which was up 32% on the previous all-time high (recorded when MLS played Manchester United back in 2011).