Lionel Messi, Inter Miami drive Club World Cup ratings
Lionel Messi, arguably the most recognizable player in the Club World Cup, is steering viewership to his underdog team.
Messi and his Inter Miami teammates are helping the expanded tournament draw U.S. television ratings that are roughly comparable to those of the Premier League in the recently concluded season.
Club World Cup broadcasts in English on TNT Sports were averaging 360,000 through Wednesday, per Sports Media Watch.
Sports Business Journal noted that the highly popular Premier League drew 394,000 per match on USA Network in the 2024-25 season.
Only a small number of Club World Cup are carried by TNT Sports, with all matches available on DAZN.
Three of the top seven English-language telecasts on TNT Sports featured Inter Miami, led by 676,000 tuning in to see the Major League Soccer side draw 2-2 with Brazil's Palmeiras on Monday.
The Miami matches attracted even larger viewership on Spanish-language broadcasts.
Messi's Miami and PSG progress to set up Club World Cup reunion
Inter Miami drew 0-0 with Egypt's Al Ahly (371,000 viewers), then earned an upset 2-1 win over Portugal's Porto (349,000) before the tie with Palmeiras.
Those results allowed Messi & Co. to finish second in Group A, setting up a Round of 16 matchup with Paris Saint-Germain that should be a rating bonanza.
The Sunday contest in Atlanta pits Messi against the team he represented immediately before coming to Miami. And PSG are the newly crowned winners of the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious continental club tournament.
According to Sports Media Watch, the CONCACAF Gold Cup matchup on Sunday between the U.S. men's national team and Haiti attracted an audience of 1.2 million viewers on Fox.
The U.S. won 2-1 to finish atop its group and set up a Sunday quarterfinal contest against Costa Rica in Minneapolis.
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