TV by the Numbers has posted updated cable coverage estimates for all the cable networks as of February 2015. We’ve culled out just the sports networks below. According to Nielsen, ESPN is in about 9.6 million more homes than Fox Sports 1 and in 12.8 million more homes than NBC Sports Network.
We weren’t aware how few homes BEIN Sport is currently in. The days when they pulled ~100,000+ viewers for a La Liga matches now seem all the more impressive.
Also interesting to note that while ESPN has more coverage than the other networks, it isn’t available in nearly 19% of homes with TVs in the U.S. (116.4 million, according to Nielsen). For what it’s worth, The Weather Channel is in more homes than any other cable channel and even it is only in 83.6% of homes.
Nielsen cable (includes satellite & telco services) coverage estimates for the cable sports networks as of February 2015 :
| Network name | Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % |
| BEIN SPORT | 16,945 | 14.6 |
| ESPN | 94,396 | 81.1 |
| ESPN CLASSIC | 25,516 | 21.9 |
| ESPN2 | 94,379 | 81.1 |
| ESPNEWS | 71,989 | 61.8 |
| ESPNU | 73,594 | 63.2 |
| FOX DEPORTES | 21,831 | 18.8 |
| FOX SPORTS 1 (Formerly SPEED) | 84,836 | 72.9 |
| FOX SPORTS 2 (Formerly FUEL) | 45,393 | 39.0 |
| FUSE | 71,491 | 61.4 |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 79,250 | 68.1 |
| MLB NETWORK | 69,991 | 60.1 |
| NBA-TV | 57,129 | 49.1 |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 81,578 | 70.1 |
| NFL NETWORK | 71,867 | 61.7 |
Fox Deportes is on 21.8 million households (18.8%)
In contrast, only 30% of Australians have pay television. Out of 23 million inhabitants, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final of the Socceroos against against China on Fox Sports had only 218,000 viewers.
Any statistics for coverage of One World Sports?
No, sorry, but not surprising. A quick scan of their web site shows that the only TV provider offering their channel is Google Fiber which had less than 100K TV subscribers as of a few months ago.