The 2025 UEFA Women’s Euros final, which saw England triumph over Spain in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, has made history as the most-watched women's soccer fixture in US history. The match was broadcast by US media giant Fox and drew an audience of 1.35 million, peaking at a staggering figure of 1.92 million viewers.
This record-breaking viewership marked the culmination of a highly successful tournament for Fox. The viewership across all broadcast fixtures was up almost 100% compared to the 2022 edition, averaging 458,000 per game as opposed to the previous average of 233,000.
In fact, this year's tournament became the most-watched edition of the women’s Euros in English-language broadcast history in the US. All stages - group stage through to final - far outpaced previous records with semi-finals alone witnessing an impressive growth rate of 176% from their counterparts in the previous edition.
Vindication and future success
Fox has been investing heavily into soccer rights across both men’s and women’s competitions over recent years. This record-breaking viewership coupled with their recent Gold Cup success effectively vindicates this strategy and sets them up for further success down the line should interest in US women’s soccer continue to grow. Interestingly enough, while this is beneficial for Fox now it also bodes well for OTT streaming giant Netflix in future years.
Netflix holds exclusive rights to broadcast upcoming editions (2027 &2031) of FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) within USA territory – a major tie-up reflecting its slow but steady move into live sports broadcasting domain. To make this move stick successfully though they will need to capitalize on current fervour around women's Euros and drive growth for their own suite of rights.
The more global nature of the WWC will be beneficial in this regard, making games easier to watch for a wider audience. For instance, the 2027 edition of the WWC is set to take place in Brazil from June 24 through July 25, with a time difference that is far more amenable than that between US and much of Europe.
Road ahead
Looking further ahead, it’s worth noting that US and Mexico are currently the sole “valid bidder” for hosting rights to the 2031 World Cup according to FIFA. This could potentially boost viewership even further given local interest.
Moreover, it was announced in May 2024 that this edition will feature an increased number of teams - up by 50% from current number of 32 to a total of 48 teams.
These developments indicate an exciting future for women's soccer broadcasting in the US with potential benefits not just for traditional broadcasters like Fox but also newer entrants into live sports broadcasting such as Netflix.
