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Chart of the Week
July 16, 2026

Soccer’s Rise: Major League Soccer Outpacing other Sports in Growth

  • 'MLS viewership is climbing fast. The share of Americans who watched MLS on TV rose by 22% between June 2025 and June 2026, second only to Minor League Baseball among all 19 leagues tracked, and far outpacing legacy leagues like the NFL (+0.8%) and NBA (+1.3%).
  • 'In-person MLS attendance is growing even faster. The share of adults attending an MLS game in person rose by 38%, second to NASCAR for the largest percent increase attendance of any league in the tracker.
  • 'Women's soccer is rising too. NWSL viewership ticked up by 11.5% over the same period — positive momentum, but a noticeably softer curve than MLS, underscoring that the sharper growth story right now is on the men's side. Subscribe today to stay ahead of the curve.

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Soccer’s Rise: Major League Soccer Outpacing other Sports in Growth

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