While ratings for the World Cup in the United States have been down, Austin was tied for second place.

Austin's viability as a soccer town is under scrutiny as the Columbus Crew attempts to move there.

“I don’t find it surprising at all that Austin has been near the top of the ratings,” said Michael Mulvihill, Fox Sports executive vice president of research, league operations and strategy.

“We know that American soccer viewers tend to be younger, tech-savvy, well-educated. These are all qualities that align well with Austin. And obviously we know from our previous experience with the NFL and the Big 12 that Austin is just generally a tremendous sports town.”

Austin has been No. 1 or 2 for seven of the first dozen matches.

The Austin market recently finished No. 3 behind Baltimore and Washington, D.C. for the English Premier League season on NBC and NBCSN. Austin was top five for three of the past four Champions League playoffs and top 10 for the 2014 World Cup and the last two European Cups.