Italy’s victory over England on penalties in the UEFA Euro 2020 Final was a smash hit for ESPN.
Per the network, the match drew 6.488 million viewers, an all-time high for a Euro match in the US. Viewership peaked at over eight million viewers for the penalties.
Sunday's #EURO2020 Final on ESPN is the most-viewed Euro match ever in the U.S. – 6,488,000 viewers, up 43% from 2016's final#ITA #ENG peaked at 8,199,000 during penalty kicks
Through all 51 matches: 1,363,000 viewers, up 31% from 2016
More: https://t.co/CqT3I4bjHb pic.twitter.com/6Evw3pRDZz
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 13, 2021
That’s an increase of 43% from the Portugal-France Final five years ago. This was also the most-watched soccer match in the US since the Women’s World Cup in the summer of 2019. The viewership for the Final is also competitive with the 2018 World Cup – only four matches in that tournament topped the viewership for this year’s Euro Final, and two of those four were matches involving Mexico on Telemundo.
Overall, Euro 2020 averaged 1.363 million viewers, an increase of 31% from the 2016 tournament (which averaged 1.039 million viewers). Additionally, every round was up double digits from the last tournament, with the round of 16, semifinals, and final all drawing at least 35% more viewers.
All in all, Euro was a rousing success this year for ESPN. Here’s looking forward to the 2024 tournament, which will be held in Germany.
[ESPN]
