Lionesses’ Euro triumph draws UK’s biggest TV audience of year
The Lionesses’ historic victory in the Women’s Euros final on Sunday night pulled in more than 16m viewers, making it the UK’s most watched television moment of 2025.
A peak live audience of 12.2m viewers watched England beat world champions Spain on penalties across BBC One and iPlayer.
Viewership of the final in Basel, Switzerland peaked at 11.6m on BBC One, representing a 59 per cent share of all TV watchers
ITV also broadcast the match live, attracting a peak audience of just over 4m, according to Broadcast Sport.
Both the BBC and ITV coverage peaked at around 7:45pm when England clinched victory.
The total of 16m eclipsed the UK audience for the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, when 14.4m watched Spain beat England 1-0.
The Lionesses’ dramatic triumph saw them become back-to-back European champions and the first senior England team to win a major tournament on foreign soil.
As in previous rounds, Sarina Wiegman’s side had to come from behind, with Alessia Russo equalising Mariona Caldentey’s first-half goal.
A tense contest saw no further goals until the penalty shoot-out, in which super-sub and hero of Euro 2022 Chloe Kelly struck the winning kick.
Lionesses Euro win ‘a landmark moment’
The BBC reported 4.2m streams of the match on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Live text commentary of the game on the BBC Sport website drew 11.4m views.
“This final was a landmark moment in sporting history, the kind people will remember exactly where they were when they watched it,” said BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski.
“The incredible Lionesses took us on an emotional rollercoaster, and millions were hooked on BBC coverage from start to finish – from live streaming post-match analysis to millions following our live page and younger audiences in huge numbers on social media.”
The most-viewed clip from the Women’s Euros on BBC Sport social channels was Lucy Bronze strapping her own leg in the quarter-final win over Sweden.
Defender Bronze revealed after the final that she had played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia.