Combined viewership for the UEFA Champions League Final on FOX and FOX Deportes increased by nearly 100% compared to last year.
Saturday’s Barcelona/Manchester United match earned a combined 2.1 U.S rating and 4.2 million viewers on FOX and FOX Deportes, up 75% in ratings and 91% in viewership from Inter Milan/Bayern Munich (1.2, 2.2M), and 62% and 100%, respectively, from the 2009 Barcelona/Manchester United match on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (1.3, 2.1M).
In particular, the FOX telecast of the match drew a 1.4 and 2.6 million viewers, up 40% in ratings and 63% from last year (1.0, 1.627M), and up 56% and 82%, respectively, from the 2009 match on ESPN (0.9, 1.428M).
Meanwhile, the Fox Deportes telecast drew a 0.7 and 1.6 million viewers, up 133% and 167%, respectively, from last year (0.3, 600K), and the most-viewed program ever on any Spanish-language cable sports network.
Washington, D.C., was the top market for the match, with a 3.3 rating (up 200% from last year). Seattle (2.9, up 383%), Providence, RI (2.8, up 367%), and New York (2.8) followed.
Saturday’s match drew a 1.8 rating among men 18-34, 29% higher than the overall household rating. As FOX pointed out in a press release, it is “exceptionally rare for a sports event to be that much stronger among the younger demo than it is overall” (FOX, 6/2).
For some perspective, the 2010 MLS Cup drew a combined 980,000 viewers on ESPN (748K) and Galavision (232K).
Ratings/Viewership For UEFA Champions League Final
Dating back to 2008
|
Year
|
Date
|
Match
|
Net(s)
|
Rating
|
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2011
|
Sat., 5/28/11 | Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1 | FOX/FOX Deportes |
2.1
|
4,200
|
|
2010
|
Sat., 5/22/10 | Inter Milan 2, Bayern Munich 0 | FOX/FOX Sports en Espanol |
1.2
|
2,227
|
|
2009
|
Wed., 5/27/09 | Barcelona 2, Manchester United 0 | ESPN/ESPN Deportes |
1.3
|
2,098
|
|
2008
|
Wed., 5/21/08 | Manchester United 1, Chelsea 1 | ESPN2/ESPN Deportes |
0.7
|
1,310
|
(This year’s numbers from Fox Sports press release via TV By the Numbers)
