Women's Euro 2025 final draws 1.35 million viewers, breaks U.S. audience record
The network reported that Sunday's viewership was up 53 percent from the 2022 final between England and Germany, which drew 885,000 viewers and aired on ESPN. Sunday's telecast peaked in the 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET window with 1.92 million viewers.
Additionally, this year's Women's Euros tournament averaged 458,000 viewers across FOX, FS1 and FS2, up 97 percent from the 2022 tournament telecast average (233,000 viewers), making it the most-watched Women's Euros in English-language history.
Entering the final, FOX Sports drew the most-watched UEFA Women's Euro group stage, quarterfinals and semifinals in English-language U.S. history. The network announced that the semifinal round also set a new record, with a staggering 176 percent increase compared to the 2022 average (788,000 viewers versus 285,000). A total of 785,000 people tuned in to watch England defeat Italy in extra time, marking a 178 percent rise from the 2022 semifinals.
During that match, viewership peaked at 1,072,000 from 5:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. The following day, 782,000 viewers watched Spain take on Germany, with an impressive 1,032,000 tuning in during the 5:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET window.
'People enjoy following players when they know their stories, and when those players are featured in the NWSL, people are more invested in seeing how they perform for their country,' Lloyd said to The Athletic after the semifinals, emphasizing that the success of the Euros is closely linked to the growing impact of the NWSL.
'It absolutely helps grow the fan base. More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the U.S. With events like the Club World Cup and Gold Cup this summer, plus the anticipation building for the 2026 World Cup, there's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport.'
For its first Women's Euro broadcast, the network showcased extensive pre-match and post-match coverage, featuring a lineup of renowned retired international women's football stars, including World Cup champions Carli Lloyd (a National Soccer Hall of Famer), Julie Ertz of the U.S. Women's National Team and four-time European champion Ariane Hingst of Germany.
Fox broke multiple audience records starting from the group stages. Earlier this month, Fox announced that Euros group stage viewership nearly doubled from the 2022 iteration of the tournament, with an average of 306,000 people tuning in to those 24 matches this summer, compared to an average of 161,000 three years ago. France's victory over England was the most-watched women's Euro group stage match in English-language U.S. television history. The marquee matchup, which France won 2-1, drew 690,000 viewers, a 329 percent spike from the previous group stage average.
A Fox spokesperson also said that England's 6-1 win over Wales attracted around 151,000 viewers to FS1, while the Lionesses' 4-0 victory over the Netherlands brought 120,000 to the same channel.
The network also broadcasts the ongoing Women's Copa America. While audience numbers for this tournament are much smaller compared to the Euros, Fox has seen growth compared to the 2022 tournament. To date, group stage matches averaged 66,000 viewers on FS1/FS2, which is more than double (106 percent) the full 2022 group stage average (32,000 viewers across FS1/FS2). The network signed a six-year agreement with CONMEBOL in 2021 and holds the English-language rights to additional CONMEBOL women's tournaments, including qualifiers for the 2026 Women's Copa América.
'I think there's more room for growth for some of these other tournaments like Copa America and WAFCON,' Lloyd said. 'We've got a lot of our studio people working for both Euros and Copa America, which has been great, but we can only hope that there's more visibility with those tournaments as well in the future.'
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Sports Business, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros
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