The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament has begun with impressive television viewership figures across Europe, highlighted by the strong ratings for France’s opening match against Austria. The highly anticipated game between France and Austria drew a substantial audience, indicating a robust start to the tournament’s viewership.
In France, the broadcast of the France Vs Austria Euro 2024 match on TF1, a commercial network, captivated 11.25 million viewers. This significant number translated to a 47.6% audience share within the country, demonstrating the widespread interest in the national team’s performance at Euro 2024. While these figures are slightly below the viewership of France’s opening Euro 2020 match (15.1 million viewers and a 57.6% share on M6), the 2024 numbers still underscore the event’s massive appeal.
Jubilant French national team celebrates victory over Austria in their Euro 2024 opening match, highlighting strong TV viewership for the France vs Austria Euro 2024 game.
France entered Euro 2024 as one of the favorites, and their journey through the tournament is expected to draw even larger audiences as the stakes increase in the knockout stages. TF1 has a history of strong sports viewership, evidenced by their peak audience of 16.5 million for a 2023 Rugby World Cup match featuring France. The France vs Austria Euro 2024 viewership numbers align with a broader trend of strong interest in Euro 2024 across major European football nations.
Germany, the host nation for Euro 2024, witnessed an average of 22.5 million viewers tuning in to watch their team’s dominant 5-1 victory over Scotland on ZDF, a public-service broadcaster. This match achieved an impressive 69% market share in Germany, showcasing the nation’s enthusiasm for hosting and participating in the tournament.
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the Germany vs Scotland game reached a peak viewership of 10.9 million on ITV, a commercial broadcaster. This figure marks the highest peak for a tournament opener on either ITV or BBC since the 2014 World Cup, indicating a resurgence of interest in major international football tournaments. In Scotland, STV, the local commercial broadcaster, averaged 1.79 million viewers with a peak of 1.38 million for the same match.
England’s Euro 2024 opener, a 1-0 victory, also garnered substantial viewership, averaging 10.5 million viewers with a peak of 15 million and a 60% market share. Furthermore, the England match was streamed 3.5 million times on BBC iPlayer, highlighting the growing trend of online viewership alongside traditional television broadcasts.
The initial viewership figures from across Europe, exemplified by the France vs Austria Euro 2024 match ratings, point towards a highly successful UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in terms of broadcast audience engagement. These strong numbers suggest that Euro 2024 is set to be a major draw for viewers throughout the competition.
