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Saturday evening’s Uefa Champions League final netted robust free-to-air viewing figures in Europe’s major markets despite the 36-minute delay caused by chaotic scenes outside the stadium.
The match was due to kick off at 9pm (CET) but was pushed back amid painstakingly slow security checks and groups of ticketless fans trying to force entry into the Stade de France just north of Paris.
Nevertheless, Spanish free-to-air broadcaster RTVE pulled in an average audience of 7.7 million viewers (and a 52.8-per-cent market share) as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0 to become European champions for a record 14th time. It is the most-watched Champions League final in Spain since an average of 11 million viewers (and 62.1-per-cent share) watched the 2014 showpiece between Real and Atlético Madrid.
The audience on RTVE’s La1 channel peaked at 8.7 million (a 57.3-per-cent share) at 11.30pm. RTVE Play, the public broadcaster’s streaming service, registered 718,500 unique visitors, including a concurrent peak of 230,830 users at the end of the match.
RTVE last broadcast the Champions League final in 2015. It acquired sublicensed rights to this year’s final from the Telefónica-owned pay-television broadcaster Movistar. The coverage on the Movistar Liga de Campeones channel was watched by 643,000 subscribers, according to FormulaTV in Spain.
Saturday’s final was broadcast in the UK by BT Sport, but the pay-television broadcaster also streamed free coverage on YouTube. No figures have been announced by the telecoms operator.
In the host country, an average of 5.9 million viewers (a 33-4-per-cent share) watched the final on TF1, the free-to-air commercial broadcaster. The match was also watched by 1.06 million subscribers on French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.
Last year’s final between Chelsea and Manchester City attracted a free-to-air audience of just 2.4 million in France (on RMC Story).
In Germany, Real’s latest triumph pulled in an average audience of 8.4 million viewers (a 34.5-per-cent share) on public broadcaster ZDF. The audience in the target sector of 14 to 49-year-olds was 2.7 million (a 41.4-per-cent share). Subscription OTT broadcaster DAZN also showed the match live.
Last year’s final was not shown on free-to-air television in Germany. The 2020 final between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain netted a bumper audience of 12.8 million viewers (a 39.9-per-cent share) on ZDF. The 2018 final – also between Real and Liverpool – was watched by 9.6 million viewers
Meanwhile, Mediaset-owned commercial network Canale 5 registered an average audience of 6.1 million (a 33.7-per-cent share) for Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti’s latest success. The match was also watched by 1.07 million subscribers on pay-television’s Sky Italia.
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Calls for investigation into ugly scenes
The French sports ministry has called a meeting on Monday with Uefa, the French Football Federation (FFF), the police and stadium officials in a bid to “draw lessons” from the scenes which delayed the start of the showpiece final.
French police have been widely criticised for firing both tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters waiting to enter the stadium. There has also been a public backlash to French authorities pinning the blame on “thousands of ticketless British fans”, contrary to the scenes witnessed by journalists and eyewitnesses citing local youths climbing over fences.
Uefa also initially blamed the “late” arrival of fans when ticket holders spent hours attempting to enter the stadium but were crammed into bottlenecks in tight spaces.
Nadine Dorries, the UK culture secretary, has called on Uefa to formally investigate the “deeply concerning” scenes. Liverpool has also asked for a “formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues”.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Uefa said: “In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles.
“This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.
“As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick-off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium. Uefa is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.”
Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, told The Associated Press: “There have always been mobility problems around the Stade de France.
“We are appalled by the communication by the French public authorities. Liverpool and Real Madrid fans are the victims of yesterday’s fiasco and are not the culprits here.
“Tear gassing people trying to enter the stadium is insane.”
The issues surrounding the final come after the organisation of the Europa League final in Seville also attracted widespread criticism.
