The UEFA Women’s Champions League just posted the kind of growth numbers that would make a Silicon Valley startup jealous. Live viewership jumped 164% after the first six matchdays of the competition’s new league-phase format, with audiences 2.6 times larger than the same stage last season.
The format change that changed everything
UEFA replaced the traditional group stage with a new league-phase structure for the 2024-25 season. Across all 54 games played throughout the season, average live audiences rose by 135% year-on-year.
Broadcast partners across 207 territories, a total of 44 networks, reported record viewership numbers. Spanish broadcaster RTVE hit its highest-ever UWCL audience during the final, averaging 1.157 million viewers.
The season’s climax came on May 23 in Oslo, where Barcelona dismantled OL Lyonnais 4-0 in front of 24,258 fans, a record-setting final attendance.
