TAMPA, Fla. – The United Soccer League announced on Wednesday the 2025 season premiere of the USL on CBS featuring San Antonio FC and Phoenix Rising FC at Toyota Field had delivered a league-record regular season viewership on the CBS Television Network on Sunday evening.

The broadcast averaged 453,000 viewers* across its broadcast window, with a peak audience of 776,000 viewers as Rising claimed a 2-1 victory behind a second-half winner by Curacao international Jearl Margaritha.

The viewership of the 2025 season premiere marks a five percent increase year-on-year, with the equivalent contest between Louisville City FC and Indy Eleven at Lynn Family Stadium drawing an audience of 432,000 viewers* on April 6, 2024. It also marks a 20 percent increase from the league’s average viewership in the 2024 regular season of 376,000* viewers.

Cumulatively, more than 1.35 million viewers tuned into the USL Championship’s three broadcasts on CBS in the 2024 season, with the USL Championship Final between Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Rhode Island FC drawing an audience of 606,000* viewers last November.

The USL Championship returns to the CBS Television Network on Saturday, July 19 when Rhode Island FC hosts Hartford Athletic at the new 10,500-seat Centreville Bank Stadium, renewing one of the best emerging rivalries in American soccer. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

* Source: Nielsen Big Data (Live + SD)