Barcelona’s return to the UEFA Champions League final was the most-viewed since it last appeared in the event.
Saturday’s Barcelona/Juventus UEFA Champions League final drew a combined 3.65 million viewers across FOX and Fox Deportes, up 18% from Real Madrid/Atletico Madrid last year (3.1M), up 74% from Bayern Munich/Dortmund in 2013 (2.1M), and the largest audience for the event in four years — since Barcelona/Manchester United in 2011 (4.2M).
The match earned the largest soccer audience since the USA/Mexico men’s friendly in April (4.5M), edging Monday’s USA/Australia FIFA World Cup match on Fox Sports 1 and NBC Universo (3.5M).
On FOX alone, the match drew a 1.3 final rating and 2.2 million viewers — up 18% in ratings and 16% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.9M), up 44% and 69%, respectively, from 2013 (0.9, 1.3M), and the best marks since 2011 (1.4, 2.6M). The Fox Deportes telecast had 1.5 million, up 19% from last year and also the highest since 2011 (1.6M).
(Sun. numbers from Fox Sports via TV By the Numbers)
