Record numbers of fans around the world watched the Premier League title race between Manchester City and Liverpool.
The battle to be champions went down to the final day for the first time in five seasons and was decided by just one point, as Manchester City and Liverpool’s brilliant performances earned them 195 points in total, another Premier League record.
The title race helped to deliver a 12% growth for Sky Sports’ audiences in the UK this season. Sky’s coverage drew 16 audiences in excess of two million viewers, more than the past two campaigns combined.
Sky also recorded its highest average live audiences for four years and had its best viewing figures for a single match in seven seasons.
BT Sport had its best-ever Premier League season, including its largest UK live audience for a Premier League match, when 1.7million watched Liverpool v Arsenal.
The number of fans watching on UK terrestrial TV also rose. The BBC’s flagship Premier League highlights programme, Match of the Day, drew its highest individual programme audience since 2016. In total, about 70% of the UK’s population watched the Premier League this season, either through Sky, BT or the BBC.
A record 1,072 goals were scored in 2018/19, watched by fans tuning in on alternative devices such PCs, tablets and mobile devices in the UK.
Richard Masters, Interim Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: “Undoubtedly the drama being played on the pitch has helped increase our UK live audiences across Sky Sports and BT Sport and we also believe the feel good factor around English football following last summer’s FIFA World Cup has played its part.”
The 2018/19 season caught the imagination of supporters around the world as well, as many countries had record audiences. In the United States and China, viewing figures for the Premier League were up on 2017/18.
NBC Sports’ average Premier League numbers rose 2% while its digital audiences were the US broadcaster’s highest ever. NBC’s simultaneous coverage of all 10 final-day matches attracted more than 2.2million, a 19% rise on the previous season.
Paul Molnar, Premier League Director of Broadcasting, said: “The ratings were testament to NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage going from strength to strength. In making all 10 matches available on the final day of the season, Championship Sunday is a very exciting broadcast proposition and is rightly appreciated by all Premier League fans in the US.”
In China, Premier League audiences were 6% up on last season. Several other countries enjoyed their highest-ever audiences for an individual match. Manchester City v Liverpool brought record numbers to their screens in Netherlands, Canada and Denmark, but it was not just fixtures involving the title contenders that delivered record figures.
In India, more people than ever watched Liverpool’s match with Manchester United, while Norwegians tuned in to see compatriot Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first home match as United manager, against Huddersfield Town, in record numbers.
Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers attracted an audience high in South Korea, while in Brazil, Chelsea v Man City drew record numbers of fans.
The numbers of people going to matches was also up with Premier League stadiums more than 95% full for the fifth season in a row.
Image: PA Images
