Champions League Final Strikes Massive TV Ratings Across FOX Networks

The 2016-17 Champions League ratings on FOX networks finished on a high with more than 3 million viewers watching Real Madrid defeat Juventus on the FOX's network broadcast (1.762m) and FOX Deportes (1.241m). For comparison, Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on NBCSN drew a total viewership of 2.953 million. 

With TV ratings in the NBA and NFL suffering drastic slumps, FOX Sports will be delighted with the ratings for the final and for the 2016-17 Champions League as a whole — FS1 saw a 40% viewership increase as compared to last season.

Only the 2011 final between Barcelona and Manchester United - essentially the dream matchup for the network - had higher ratings for FOX. The final numbers for 2017 were a slight uptick over the 2016 final featuring Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but that increase still represents a significant victory for FOX given the slumping television numbers of other sports.

Additionally, an average audience of 56,116 watched the match on the FOX Sports Go streaming platform, and 1.130 million meaningless tweets were blasted out into the void of the Twittersphere. 

Viewing numbers peaked at the end of the match as everyone scrambled to see whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo would pop his top off.

Saturday’s other big winner on cable was Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. The beloved yellow sponge is still going strong with 1.685 million viewers tuning in at 10:00 a.m. ET to see what kooky capers that pineapple-dwelling fry cook will get into next.