The group stages of Euro 2020 had some fascinating encounters. The competition reportedly posted record viewership so far for the final Group F matches between France and Portugal and the battle between Germany and Hungary.
Defending champions Portugal were involved in a high octane 2-2 draw against France. This match had the highest number of viewers in France and generated an average audience of 15.6 million viewers on French free-to-air commercial broadcaster, Telefoot 1, which is equal to the market share of 57.6 percent.
Previously, TF1 also marked an audience of 12.3 million when France played against Hungary with a market share of 70 per cent. An audience of 12.3 million for the game between France and Germany was seen on M6 broadcaster. The viewership for this game could be even larger when Bein Sports also release their numbers.
Meanwhile, the German broadcaster registered an average viewership of 25.7 million (71.4 per cent) for the match between Germany and Hungary which too ended in 2-2 draw.
The Portuguese broadcaster RTP also announced their numbers with an average audience of 3.5 million (69.3 percent share) viewed the game against France, which makes it the highest audience of the year in Portugal. An audience of 2.7 million a (64.2-per-cent share) on commercial network TVI for the Germany-Portugal match.
The round of 16 matches will begin on Saturday. The first game would be between Wales and Denmark at the Amsterdam Arena, followed by the clash between Italy and Austria at the Wembley Stadium, London. The knockouts are going to be more intense and nail-biting and the viewership is expected to rise as the tournament reaches its climax. The round of 16 involves heavyweight clashes between Portugal and Belgium, while England hosts bitter rivals Germany at Wembley. Moreover, the limited capacity at stadiums for Euro 2020 across venues in Europe due to COVID-19 protocols also plays a big role in bigger viewership numbers.