TV: El Clasico draws 845,000 viewers for 7 a.m. ET kickoff

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 30, 2017

Due to an early kickoff -- 7 a.m. ET -- dictated by La Liga's desire to draw a prime-time audience in Asia, the Dec. 23 Real Madrid-Barcelona match drew only 845,000 viewers on beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Espanol, less than half the audience for the last two El Clasicos.

The Real Madrid-Barcelona El Clasico in April averaged 1.6 million viewers on beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Espanol. Their first meeting on U.S. soil during the International Champions Cup in July averaged 1.7 million viewers on ESPN.

The record audience for El Clasico on the beIN Sports networks: 2.12 million viewers in March 2015.