Women's Euros viewership nearly doubles from 2022, Fox Sports says
The most-watched game so far has been France's scintillating 2-1 victory over reigning champion England on July 5. That game brought in 690,000 viewers, a 329 percent increase from the previous group stage.
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More recently, 2023 World Cup champion Spain's 3-1 win over Italy on July 11 averaged 568,000 viewers, while an average of 486,000 tuned in for Sweden's 4-1 victory over Germany on July 12. Both matches featured the winning teams coming back from a goal down to claim three points.
A Fox spokesperson also told that England's 6-1 win over Wales garnered around 151,000 viewers to FS1, while the Lionesses' 4-0 rout of the Netherlands brought 120,000 to the same channel.
'UEFA Women's EURO 2025 has surpassed all our expectations in setting a new viewership record for the group stage. Fox Sports is proud to see our commitment to both international soccer and women's sports validated by +90% growth,' Fox Sports president of insight and analytics Mike Mulvihill said in a statement.
'With the knockout rounds starting Wednesday and matches the rest of the way airing on Fox, we're confident the tournament will continue resonating with fans,' Mulvihill added.
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This is Fox Sports' first time broadcasting the women's European championships. In addition to airing the matches themselves — not only on cable but on its main broadcast channel — the network has featured prominent pre-match coverage featuring a slate of retired international women's football stars.
World Cup champions Carli Lloyd (who is also a National Soccer Hall of Famer) and Julie Ertz of the U.S. women's national team, and four-time European champion Ariane Hingst of Germany composed the analyst team alongside Alexi Lalas and Stu Holden at the start of the tournament.
Norway and Italy will open the Euros' quarterfinal stage when they face off on Wednesday in Geneva. Thursday's quarterfinal features Sweden against England, followed by Spain vs. tournament host Switzerland on Friday and France vs. Germany on Saturday.
All matches kick off at 3 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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