Eurovision 2025: The viewing figures

Viewing Eurovision
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Each year we scan the world of the web and seek reports of how many people tuned into our beloved Eurovision Song Contest. A week has gone by, and while some broadcasters have yet to shown their hand, there are enough for us to bring you our annual summary…

Oh, and because you can ‘prove’ anything with statistics, the Grands Fromages in Geneva have insisted the 2025 Contest had highest viewing share in over 20 years, reaching 166 million people across 37 markets. 3 million more than last year. Keep that in mind as you read what follows… because, yeah, the ‘unmassaged’ stats sort of tell a slightly different story.

Western European Powerhouses

Germany maintained its position as the largest television audience for Eurovision 2025, attracting 8.55 million viewers according to official data from AFG and GfK. The EBU tends to round up (and add catch-up numbers), reaching 9.1 million. This figure represents a continuation of Germany’s status as the contest’s largest television market, despite the country’s relatively modest performance in the competition itself.

France recorded 5.2 million viewers on France 2, achieving a substantial 40% market share among viewers aged 4 and upward. The French broadcast demonstrated strong female viewership, with 53.8% of total viewers being women under 50 during the broadcast hours. Viewership peaked during the performance of France’s representative Louane with “Maman,” who finished seventh in the competition. Although the EBU call the percentage share ‘the highest ever’, the 2025 figures actually show a slight decrease from 2024’s 5.4 million viewers but that higher market share, suggests more concentrated viewing during the broadcast window.

The United Kingdom experienced a significant decline in Eurovision interest, recording 6.7 million viewers on BBC One, a decrease of one million viewers compared to 2024 and representing the lowest figure in the past decade. This decline occurred despite the UK’s return to competitive form in recent years, suggesting potential audience fatigue or competing programming factors during the broadcast window.

Spain bucked the declining trend with 5.9 million viewers watching on La 1, representing an impressive 50.1% market share, and an increase of nearly one million viewers compared to 2024. This surge in Spanish viewership occurred despite the country’s poor competitive performance, with representative Melody finishing 24th with only 37 points, demonstrating that national performance doesn’t always correlate with viewing interest.

Nordic Region

Sweden recorded 2.577 million viewers on SVT1, marking the highest viewing audience in the country since 2021 and an increase of 267,000 viewers compared to 2024. The Eurovision final became the most-watched television event in Sweden during the broadcast week, with all three live shows entering the country’s weekly top ten most-watched programs. Sweden’s representative Kaj finished fourth with 321 points, providing additional viewer satisfaction beyond mere participation.

Norway attracted 844,000 viewers for the final, with an additional 1.645 million watching at least one minute of the broadcast. Peak viewership occurred during the opening performance by Kyle Alessandro, reaching 950,000 viewers, though overall numbers fell by 40,000 compared to 2024. Norway’s viewing figures remained consistent across platforms, with 819,000 watching on NRK 1 and 25,000 viewing online.

Finland experienced one of the largest percentage increases in Eurovision viewership, recording a 45% surge with 1.644 million viewers for the final. This dramatic increase was attributed to dual Finnish interest, as both official representative Erika Vikman and Swedish band KAJ (representing Sweden) had Finnish connections, creating heightened local engagement. Over the course of the evening, 2.6 million Finns watched at least some portion of the final, with digital platforms contributing over 500,000 online streams. Overall, the EBU claims a 90.5% share – which is somewhat disingenuous, but that would be a record.

Denmark achieved 794,000 viewers for the final on DR1, marking the most-watched Eurovision final in the country since 2019. The broadcast became the most-viewed program in Denmark during the week, indicating strong competitive performance against other television content.

In Iceland, RÚV logged an average of 159,980 viewers, with a total of 201,480 watching at some point during the broadcast. This represents an increase of 48,000 viewers compared to 2024.

Host Country and Alpine Region

Switzerland, as the host nation, recorded exceptional viewing figures with 880,000 viewers following the final live on SRF 1, achieving a 57.5% market share. This represented an increase of over 200,000 viewers from 2024 and a four percentage point increase in market share. The hosting advantage clearly translated into enhanced domestic interest, with both semi-finals also recording increased viewership compared to previous years.

Austria’s broadcaster, ORF, reported strong domestic viewership for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, coinciding with the nation’s victory.Grand Final, where an average of 897,000 viewers tuned in, capturing a 48.1% market share. This marked a slight decline from 2024 but remained a significant audience.  Obviously it’s going to be way higher in 2026!

Mediterranean and Southern Europe

Italy attracted 4.756 million viewers on RAI 1, achieving a 34% market share, though this represented a slight decrease from 2024’s 5.341 million viewers. The Italian market showed consistent engagement despite the decline, with over 2.4 million watching the first semi-final and 1.6 million viewing the second semi-final.

Greece, however, recorded remarkable engagement levels with 2.755 million viewers and an exceptional 70.8% market share, representing the highest viewing figures in the country in 15 years. During peak moments, Greek viewership reached 89.5%, with 4.8 million people watching at least one minute of the contest. This extraordinary engagement coincided with Greece’s strong competitive performance, as Klavdia finished sixth with “Asteromata,” the country’s best result since 2013.

In Slovenia, the Grand Final was watched by an average of 150,400 viewers on TV SLO 1, accounting for a 7.8% audience share. This represents a 45% decrease compared to the previous year’s viewership. This isn’t mentioned in the EBU report. Because yeah, obviously.

Portugal logged 866,000 viewers with peak viewing of 1.3 million during NAPA’s performance, despite the country’s modest 21st place finish. The Portuguese figures demonstrated a slight decline from 2024, dropping by approximately 58,000 viewers year-over-year.

Eastern Europe and Baltic States

Poland demonstrated substantial audience engagement with 3.35 million viewers on TVP1, achieving a 36.6% viewer share. Peak viewership reached 5.6 million during Justyna Steczkowska’s performance of “Gaja,” combining 4.58 million TVP1 viewers with nearly 1 million TVP Polonia international viewers. Overall viewing interest increased by 2.4 million viewers compared to 2024, representing one of the largest year-over-year gains among measured markets.

Lithuania recorded 491,700 viewers for the final, with 1.1 million people watching at least one minute of any Eurovision broadcast during the week. The Lithuanian broadcaster LRT also reported record social media engagement, with Facebook posts reaching 2.7 million views and Instagram experiencing the fastest growth among all media channels.

Estonia attracted 567,000 viewers who watched at least 15 minutes of Eurovision content across ETV, ETV2, and ETV+[1]. The final averaged 215,000 viewers, with 263,000 specifically watching Tommy Cash’s performance of “Espresso Macchiato”. Estonia’s third-place finish—their best result since 2002—likely contributed to sustained viewing interest throughout the broadcast.

Ukraine recorded 619,000 viewers aged 4 and older in cities with populations over 50,000, achieving a 13.24% average audience share among viewers 18 and older. During the winner announcement interval, Ukrainian viewership reached a 21.22% share, demonstrating peak engagement during crucial moments. Total Eurovision viewing across all shows and reruns attracted 1.272 million viewer throughout the week.

Czechia achieved 173,000 viewer* on CT1 with a 9.71% audience share, representing the second most-watched Eurovision final in the country over the past five years. This marked an increase of over 50,000 viewers compared to 2024, suggesting growing interest despite the country’s early elimination.

Western Europe Smaller Markets

Belgium recorded just under 1 million viewers combined across linguistic regions, with 289,623 viewers on French-language RTBF and 697,615 viewers on Dutch-language VRT. The Flemish region showed a more significant decline, losing over 160,000 viewers compared to 2024, while French-speaking viewership remained relatively stable. These figures represented a substantial decrease from 2022’s peak of 1.5 million viewers, indicating potential declining interest in Belgium.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 Grand Final, held on 17 May, attracted significant viewership in the Netherlands. An average of 3,285,000 viewers tuned in, capturing a 75.2% audience share. This marks a substantial increase compared to the previous year, when the Dutch entry was disqualified, leading to reduced national interest

Ireland experienced one of the most dramatic viewership declines, recording 268,000 viewers on RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1, representing a 30% audience share but a nearly 60% decrease from 2024’s figures. This dramatic drop occurred during a year when Ireland failed to qualify for the final, with Emmy’s “Laika Party” finishing 13th in Semi-Final Two.

Global and Digital

Australia maintained strong engagement with 1.420 million total reach across both live morning broadcast and prime-time replay. The early morning live show attracted 615,000 viewers (up from 508,000 in 2024), while the prime-time replay drew 805,000 viewers. These figures demonstrated consistent Australian interest in Eurovision despite geographical distance and challenging broadcast timing.

YouTube streaming provided global access with peak viewership reaching 1.417 million concurrent viewers during the winner announcement. The streaming platform generated nearly 7 million hours of watch time across all three live shows, with an average audience of approximately 750,000 viewers. Peak performance occurred during Italian singer Lucio Corsi’s performance, drawing 1.186 million concurrent viewers.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments