Champs League final sets U.S. viewing records

Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United broadcast live on ESPN was the highest-rated and most-watched UEFA telecast in U.S. cable television history, attracting an average of 1,066,000 homes for a 1.1 rating.

That represented an increase of almost 34 percent over the previous record set last year when Man. United beat Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final. Wednesday's game was the last on the ESPN networks before the Champions League moves to the Fox family of networks in 2009-10.

The game was also the most-watched telecast ever for ESPN Deportes, which has received Hispanic household ratings for 13 months.

The Spanish-language telecast earned a 9.9 Hispanic coverage rating, representing 474,000 Hispanic homes, the biggest audience and second-highest rating the network has ever received. The only higher rating was 10.1 for the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany.

The only bigger rating and audience in 2009 was an Interliga game between Chivas and Club America on Fox Sports en Español on Jan. 3. --Soccer America