The 2008 Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea scored the biggest ratings of the year for a TV event in the United Kingdom. ITV said that their audience peaked at 14.6 million. Combined with the 2 million people who watched the match on Sky Sports, it means that 27% of UK residents watched the match on television.
According to BBC Sport, neither viewing figures take into account the thousands of extra fans that watched the match in pubs and clubs across the country.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazing ratings. It seems the Champions League posses a serious threat to the World Cup as the most watched sporting event on the planet.
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there is no chance it is a serious threat
the world cup is still a world competition and your casual fans will always tune into that
the CL is still just a regional (European) competition. i know they are composed of players from all over Europe and the world but it will never compete with the WC. national pride is and always will be more than club pride.
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If they move to a European league and have a playoff (two things that would never happen but would be amazing to see). They would challenge the WC.
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ESPN here released their TV ratings, too. Combined on ESPN and ESPN Deporters, they estimated a record 1.3 mln. saw the game in the US. Not too shabby, considering the game was in the middle of the day during a work day. Hopefully, when they move the final to a Saturday, the profile of the game will only increase here.
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hopefully a move to saturday could put it on ABC, maybe
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