It’s been a strong start to Euro 2020 for ESPN. The network announced ratings from Matchday One on Thursday, and the numbers should please executives.
Opening matches on ESPN and ABC averaged 934,000 viewers. That figure marks a 20% increase over the same matches at the 2016 event which also aired on the ESPN family of networks. When looking at individual games, it’s an even bigger success.
France’s match with Germany on Tuesday averaged 1.5 million viewers. The 1-0 victory from France was the highest-rated game across this year’s tournament and the entire group stage from 2016. Before that contest, the opening match of the tournament was a big draw. Italy’s impressive victory over Turkey averaged 700,000 viewers on ESPN. The Italian triumph increased viewership by 27% compared to the 2016 opener between France and Romania, which averaged 552,000 viewers.
The top three markets domestically for Euro 2020 have been Raleigh-Durham (1.0), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (1.0), Philadelphia (1.0). Those are the only three cities to post a rating over one, with New York, Las Vegas, and San Diego close on their heels with a 0.9 rating.
This is a unique championship set up for this year’s event after they tried to commemorate its 60th-anniversary last year. Usually, one nation hosts the entire tournament, but organizers decided to use 11 different locations across the continent for the historic anniversary.
Amsterdam, Baku (Azerbaijan), Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Seville (Spain), and St. Petersburg are all hosting matches during this year’s event. A tournament that ESPN has held the U.S. rights to since 2008. Since then, Spain went back-to-back before Christiano Ronaldo and Portugal took the crown in 2016.
The tournament houses The last four FIFA World Cup champions – France (2018), Germany (2014), Spain (2010), and Italy (2006) – so fans can expect more exciting action as the event rolls on.