Everything Becks: Jersey is No. 1, Broadcast Breaks Records

• Reuters, Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:46 PM

The numbers are in: David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy jersey is the No. 1 selling jersey in the world at the moment, according to Adidas' sports marketing manager Chris McGuire, having sold 200,000 replicas last week alone. Beckham has been one of the sport's most marketable figures for a long time; prior to his move to the Galaxy, the Englishman drove record merchandise sales while playing for Real Madrid of Spain's La Liga. However, his popularity "appears to be soaring to new heights" now that he's moved to Los Angeles.

Indeed, Becks' first outing with the Galaxy, against Chelsea in a 1-0 losing effort last Saturday, drew a record television audience for a match involving a Major League Soccer team on ESPN, reaching 947,000 homes, according to television measurement firm Nielsen. That translates to roughly one percent of homes with ESPN watching the global soccer icon's debut.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Posh and Becks in Hollywood has attracted even more attention in the celebrity press, where the likes of People Magazine, TV's Entertainment Tonight and the blog PerezHilton.com covered his Galaxy debut. It helps that celebrities like Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the NBA's Kevin Garnett were on hand to witness the match versus Chelsea. Said Becks, "I don't think I've ever had a more extraordinary year in my life than this one and this last week has been truly one of the most remarkable."

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