LaLiga matches are outrating MLB baseball games on US television.
ESPN agreed a deal with LaLiga in May 2021 to broadcast eight seasons of Spanish football in the USA. As the broadcaster looks back on year one, progress has been very encouraging.
ESPN bosses are delighted with how their coverage is being received by viewers and it has been revealed that some LaLiga Santander games draw bigger television audiences than baseball.
"There are LaLiga games which are more watched than baseball, which is incredible," said Ricardo Ortiz, an ESPN commentator, to Marca.
"El Clasico was watched more than baseball, with everything that baseball is to American culture."
ESPN broadcast their coverage of LaLiga Santander in Spanish and English, with areas which have high Latino populations particularly successful. The presence of Latin American and North American players in Spain also helps draw interest.
"The main markets for us are New York, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, although here [on the west coast] it's harder due to the time difference," explained Sonia Gomez, ESPN programming director.
"They are markets with a big Latino presence.
"[Andres] Guardado, [Diego] Lainez, [Yunus] Musah... Mexican and American players do a great job for us."