Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) recently celebrated their inaugural UEFA Champions League trophy, a victory that was witnessed by millions of viewers in France and Italy. The final match between PSG and Italy's Inter Milan garnered strong viewing figures, reflecting the immense popularity of European men's club soccer.
The final match, which saw PSG secure a resounding 5-0 victory over Inter Milan at Munich's Allianz Arena, attracted an impressive total of 11.5 million viewers in France alone. This figure includes 8.7 million who watched the game through the free-to-air channel M6 and another 2.8 million via Canal+, a pay-TV broadcaster. M6’s coverage peaked with an audience of 10.3 million while Canal+ reached its zenith with 3.2 million viewers, resulting in a combined peak audience of 13.5 million towards the end of the game.
Despite these impressive numbers, this is not a UCL final viewership record for France – that honor goes to PSG’s first-ever UCL final against Bayern Munich five years ago where they lost by one goal. Both M6 and Canal+ were able to broadcast the game due to agreements covering the entire UCL cycle from 2024-27 which were announced back in June 2022.
Strong Italian interest despite loss
In Italy, despite Inter Milan losing their second UCL final in three seasons, there was still significant interest from fans as evidenced by an average viewer count of approximately 6.4 million on TV8 - Sky Italia’s free-to-air channel - representing a substantial market share of around 35%.
Italian regulations stipulate that when an Italian side reaches the finals or semi-finals stage - as was also seen with Inter's two-leg victory over Barcelona - the action must be shown free-to-air, hence TV8’s coverage.
UCL viewing figures
The UCL is broadcast live in Italy by both Sky Italia and Amazon Prime Video's streaming service, through to 2026-27. In terms of overall UCL viewing figures, it was recently revealed that Prime Video broke streaming viewership records for its coverage of men's club soccer’s 2024-25 UEFA Champions League (UCL) in the UK and Ireland.
This season marked the first campaign played with the new UCL format – a single group stage featuring 36 teams – which clearly resonated well with audiences globally.
PSG's inaugural victory in the UEFA Champions League not only marks a significant milestone for the team but also highlights the immense global popularity of European men's club soccer. The record-breaking viewership numbers from France and Italy are testament to this fact.
