Paris (AFP)

The Champions League final won by Bayern Munich against PSG (1-0) on Sunday attracted some 11.4 million viewers on TF1, according to figures from Médiamétrie.

The front page gathered 46.2% audience share (PdA) by broadcasting this rare feat of a French club until the final. RMC Sport, which broadcast the match in encrypted form, must publish its audience in the morning.

Even with its closed-door format, adapted to the health crisis, the Champions League final has asserted itself as a major sporting event of the year, especially as many competitions and matches have been canceled because of the epidemic.

The last final played by a French club, opposing AS Monaco to FC Porto (0-3) in 2004, attracted nearly 11 million viewers and 44% audience share, already on TF1.

The televised broadcast of the Champions League final had attracted fewer spectators in recent years (4.2 million spectators in 2016 for Real Madrid-Atlético Madrid for example), but no French club was showing.

We have to go back to the 1990s to find even more massive audiences: the 1991 final between Marseille and the Red Star in Belgrade (lost by France 3-5 on penalties) had gathered 17.5 million people in front of the television (69.8% audience share that evening).

The 2018 World Cup final, between Croatia and France, was followed by 19.3 million viewers (82% of PdA) on TF1. A million people had also followed the victory of the Blues on beIN.

© 2020 AFP