Despite airing in the mid-afternoon on a weekday, the UEFA Champions League Final scored for ESPN.
Barcelona’s win over Manchester United drew a 0.9 U.S. rating (1.1 cable) and 1.4 million viewers on ESPN Wednesday afternoon, up 29% in ratings and 30% in viewers from a 0.7 (0.8 cable) and 1.1 million for last year’s Man U/Chelsea final. Barcelona/Man U finishes as the highest rated, most viewed UEFA telecast ever on cable television.
To put those numbers in perspective, live, midday editions of SportsCenter averaged 419,000 households on ESPN through December of last year, or a 0.4 U.S. rating.
