Germany/Italy was easily the strongest draw of the Euro 2016 quarterfinals. In other news, ESPN scored its largest Premier Boxing Champions audience in nearly a year, and Wimbledon viewership was mixed over the holiday weekend.
Germany/Italy Hits Euro 2016 High
- The Germany/Italy Euro 2016 quarterfinal had 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2 Saturday afternoon, up 15% from Spain/France in 2012 (1.79M), up 10% from Russia/Netherlands on ABC in 2008 (1.84M), and the largest audience of the tournament. On Sunday, France/Ireland drew 1.6 million on ESPN — down 48% from England/Italy in 2012 (2.9M) and down 19% from Spain/Italy in 2008 (1.9M). Rounding out the quarterfinals, Poland/Portugal drew 1.2 million last Thursday (-12%) and Wales/Belgium had 1.1 million last Friday (-25%), both on ESPN2. All figures include pre-match coverage.
ESPN Earns Its Top PBC Audience Since Last August
- The latest edition of Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN earned 542,000 viewers last Saturday night, up 38% in viewership from the network’s previous telecast in June (394K), and its top PBC audience since last August (1.2M). It was also the most-watched PBC card on cable since April 1, when coverage on Spike TV scored 873,000.
Wimbledon Viewership Up Monday, Down Saturday
- Wimbledon round of 16 coverage earned 910,000 viewers on ESPN and 536,000 on ESPN2 Monday, up 24% and 65%, respectively, from last year (732K and 324K). In other weekend action, special bonus coverage drew 439,000 on ESPN2 Sunday, and ESPN scored 1.0 million for its third round coverage on Saturday (-8%).
CORRECTION 7/7: ESPN earned the largest PBC audience on cable since April 1, not August 1.
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], [3], [4], [5])
