Barca-Juve match posts second-highest TV ratings ever for Champions League final
In what turned out to be an exciting match, the 2015 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus posted very solid television ratings according to Nielsen.  Nielsen, an information and measurement company, claims that this year’s final held a 1.3 … Continue reading →

In what turned out to be an exciting match, the 2015 UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus posted very solid television ratings according to Nielsen.  Nielsen, an information and measurement company, claims that this year’s final held a 1.3 household rating, with 2.2 million viewers of the match on English-language station FOX.

Combined with FOX Deportes (the Spanish-language channel that aired the game), the total American television audience combined to average 3.65 million viewers, peaking at 4.420 between 4:30-4:47 PM ET.

The impressive statistics make the 2015 Champions League final the second-most watched final ever, trailing only the 2011 game that featured Barcelona and Manchester United.  The 2011 edition recorded a 1.4 rating, with 2.6 million viewers (not including Spanish-language television).

This year’s Champions League final match rating was up 18% (and +16% in total audience) compared to last year’s final between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.  Also up from last season was the overall viewing of Champions League matches, from the group stage to the final.  FOX Sports 1 averaged 355,000 viewers per Champions League match this season, while last year’s numbers were at 253,000 per game.

Similar to FOX’s numbers, FOX Deportes also posted some significant numbers as well.  The Barcelona-Juventus match was the most-watched Spanish cable sports program of the 2015 calendar year so far and ranks within the top five highest rated soccer matches all-time on Spanish language cable.

The 2015 final saw a match audience increase 19% on FOX Deportes compared to last year’s edition.  The match peaked on the Spanish-language channel at 4:30-4:47 PM ET with 1.920 million viewers.

Although the matchup in the Champions League final surely has a lot to do with how well the game performs in the ratings, with soccer continuing to grow in popularity in America, it appears that the number of viewers will only rise in the future.