News
Lionesses’ UK Viewership Double Chelsea CWC Final
England’s 6-1 dismantling of Wales in their final UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 group-stage match was more than double the UK audience for FIFA’s Club World Cup final between Chelsea and PSG on the same evening.
The Lionesses drew an average of 2.9 million viewers on ITV1, peaking at 4.4 million.
Across all platforms, including streaming and ITVX, the Lionesses’ match averaged 4.2 million and peaked at 4.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched Women’s Euros match in the UK so far. It also delivered ITV1’s highest peak audience since the Britain’s Got Talent final in May and contributed to the network’s strongest Sunday night performance of the year across its portfolio.
Meanwhile, Channel 5’s concurrent coverage of Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final managed an average of just 1.1 million viewers, peaking at 2.3 million.
While Channel 5, which sublicensed 23 matches from DAZN, insisted it was “happy” with the performance, the figures underline the tournament’s limited traction in the UK, even with an English club lifting the trophy.
The scheduling clash on July 13 again raises questions about FIFA’s decision to wedge its expanded Club World Cup into an already congested calendar. For a tournament already widely criticised for its bloated format and lack of identity, the underwhelming viewership figures offer little vindication for what was a made-for-TV event driven more by commercial ambition than sporting integrity.
Outside of the UK it is a slightly different picture.
Public broadcaster France 2 aired the Women’s Euros clash between France and the Netherlands, drawing fewer than 2.3 million viewers. Commercial broadcaster TF1, which opted to show the Club World Cup final instead, pulled in a stronger audience of 4.8 million — as France’s most successful club took on Chelsea with the chance to win a historic sextuple.
Still, the concept of a Women’s Euros group stage match – with France already through – drawing figures which stand up to FIFA’s ‘must-watch’ event is a testament to two realities: women’s football is becoming increasingly popular and the Club World Cup wasn’t the must-watch event that FIFA president Gianni Infantino said it would be.
As the Women’s Euros moves into its knockout phase, attention will now shift to the quarter-finals starting this evening as Norway take on Italy. ITV and the BBC will continue to share broadcast duties, with ITV holding first pick for a semi-final and both networks airing the final on July 27.
If they can reach the final, expect the Lionesses to continue to blow FIFA’s club-centric creation out of the water – with viewership numbers predicted to skyrocket as national pride hits fever pitch.
Insideworldfootball.com
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