Although official viewing figures for the Champions League final have fluctuated from anywhere between 380 million and 400 million in recent years (Goal), it is safe to assume a similarly mammoth spectatorship will sit down to watch Manchester City and Inter Milan for 2023’s edition.

It is worth noting that despite being a single day event, its average 400 million viewership ranks it firmly among the most watched sporting events in the world, alongside the Olympic Games and the Tour de France, which have cumulative figures.

However, with the UK’s chief Champions League broadcaster BT Sport reporting a record domestic viewership for last year’s final between Real Madrid and Liverpool (12.6 million), it may well serve as a strong indicator that the trajectory is only headed upwards.

How Does The Champions League Final Viewership Compare To Other Sports?

As mentioned, it is difficult to compare events that take place over a prolonged period such as the Olympics, but even then the Champions League final holds up pretty well despite being a one-day affair.

Therefore, it is perhaps best to compare it to some of the world’s other popular finals – for example:

The 2023 NFL Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles saw a global audience of 150 million.
The 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics had an average spectatorship of 16.9 million.
The European Championship final between England and Italy two years ago pulled in 328 million fans.
Last year’s World Cup Final in Qatar reportedly saw 1.5 billion people watch Argentina beat France on penalties.