Soccer will now be broadcast alongside NFL matches in the USA after Fox Soccer kicked off their programming of the English Premier League on the weekend.
The Manchester United versus Chelsea match was shown live on Sunday as the world game continues to grow at a healthy rate in North America.
SNL Kagan analyst Adam Swanson acknowledges that soccer may not reach the lofty TV heights of the NFL but says the fact that Fox is trying indicates that the popularity is there.
"There are some pretty big hurdles for them to overcome [to make soccer mainstream in the U.S.], but that's not to say they shouldn't try, and it's not to say that this won't increase the sport's popularity," Swanson told MarketWatch. "You need something to drive its growth, and this could be it."
Whilst David Nathanson, head of Fox Soccer, gave a very quick insight into how many people the world game will now be exposed to in the US.
"It's an opportunity to introduce these teams to free-to-air in more than 100 million households," said Nathanson. "It's a unique opportunity for us, and will broaden exposure for all our properties."
