Spain v Germany at Euro 2024 most watched TV broadcast in Germany

The men's Euro 2024 quarter-finals between Germany and Spain was the most watched television broadcast in Germany this year, data from public broadcasters ARD showed, reported dpa.

An average of 27.1 million people watched the live broadcast on ARD on July 5. The market share was a whopping 80.9%. Germany were eliminated from the home tournament after a 2-1 defeat in extra-time to eventual champions Spain.

In 2022 and 2023, the Germany women's team dominated the list of most watched live broadcasts, while the men's team didn't even make it to the top 50 after early World Cup exits in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

"The home European championship was very dominant, the tournament was a lot of fun for people," ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky said.

More than 20 matches not involving Germany reached the mark of 10 million viewers. The final between Spain and England was watched by 22.4 million people.

“That was impressive proof of the power of football at tournaments,” Balkausky said.

The most successful sport after football was - as in the previous year - handball.

Five European championship matches involving the German team were among the 50 most successful sports broadcasts of the year, including the semi-final defeat to Denmark with 9.8 million viewers and 29th place.

The Olympic Games were also a major ratings driver. The opening ceremony on public broadcasters ZDF delivered the highest rating from Paris: 10.4 million people watched the ceremony, which lasted around four hours and was ranked 26th in the ratings.