Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final clash between Barcelona and Juventus was one for the ages, with Barcelona eventually claiming a 3-1 victory thanks in large part to a fantastic Luis Suarez goal in the 68th minute. Whoever ended up winning the match would finish off a historic treble, thanks to each side winning their domestic cup and domestic league title.
The game was a hit in the overnights for Fox as well, drawing a 1.8 overnight rating that is tied for the highest overnight in the history of the Champions League on Fox. The game it’s tied with? Barcelona’s 3-1 win over Manchester United in 2011. There’s something about Barca, I guess. It’s also worth noting that overnight does *not* include the Fox Deportes simulcast, which will likely push the final viewership number even higher.
It’s not surprising that Barca-Juve was up 50% from 2014 and 80% from 2013 – each of those matches was a league derby, as Real Madrid prevailed over Atletico Madrid in 2014 and Bayern Munich topped Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund in 2013. Clubs from two different countries making the final had to have helped a little bit, and the global fanbases possessed by both squads didn’t hurt matters a bit.
The strong final caps off a solid year for the Champions League on Fox Sports. Through the semifinals, viewership for matches was up 40% on Fox Sports 1, and the second leg of both semifinals (Juventus-Real Madrid and Barcelona-Bayern Munich) both cracked 500,000 viewers, despite airing in the middle of the day during the middle of the week.
Now, if only we could do something about being able to see all of the group stage matches without having to pay for Fox Soccer Plus…
