by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jul 22, 2013

By Paul Kennedy and Ridge Mahoney

STOKE PAYS FOR ROAD SUPPORT.

Tony Scholes

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Soccer Business Insider

Sunday's USA-El Salvador match on FOX drew a 1.2 overnight rating, which means 1.2 percent of all households with televisions tuned in to the match in Nielsen's survey of the top 56 U.S. metered markets.Soccer ratings tend to fall as the final ratings account for all markets, taking in smaller, more rural markets where soccer is less popular.The USA-El Salvador game was the second Gold Cup match FOX has carried. The USA-Cuba match on July 13 earned a a 0.6 final rating. FOX will also air Sunday's final from Chicago's Soldier Field.The USA-El Salvador overnight rating compares favorably to overnights of recent live soccer matches on FOX. The Bayern-Munich-Borussia Dortmund UEFA Champions League final drew a 1.0 overnight rating (0.9 final rating) and Wigan-Manchester City FA Cup final drew a 0.5 overnight rating.Sunday's top rated sports event was the British Open golf tournament. ESPN's final-round coverage earned a 3.6 overnight rating.Stoke City will provide free bus service from its Brittannia Stadium for its fans attending all its English Premier League club games on the road this season.“As a club, we are conscious that following football can be an expensive business, especially at a time when so many people are feeling the squeeze financially," Stoke chief executivetold the club's official website: “We work hard to try and provide our supporters with value for money which is why we have not increased our ticket prices since being promoted to the Premier League in 2008."----------------------------Follow Soccer America