With the Champions League play-offs well underway, the new league phase viewership stats are proving that the revamped Swiss-style has paid off.
Not only has the UEFA Women's Champions League been revamped, introducing a league phase, but they have also, for the first time, struck a broadcasting deal that requires viewers to pay to watch on Disney+. You would think that would mean fewer people watching due to the paywall, but in fact, it has grown and marks a major step forward for elite women's club football. However, a few of the games are available on free-to-air channels, and the tournament is broadcast across Europe.
It has been confirmed that this change has delivered a 164% increase in live viewership after just six matchdays. This is because broadcast rights have expanded to 207 territories through 44 partners, with the competition attracting an audience 2.6 times higher than at the group stage last season.
Across 54 games, average live audiences are up 135% year on year. Cumulative live viewership has reached 13.5 million, a milestone that last season was only achieved during the final, averaging 2.25 million viewers per matchweek.
To add to the viewership boost, social engagement has increased to 774 million interactions, an 84% increase from last season. Women's football is increasingly reliant on and connected to social media as a source of news and a platform for interaction with the sport.
Replacing the traditional groups with a league phase has produced tighter contests, more meaningful matches, and marquee fixtures from the start, with top sides playing each other, raising both the competitive standard on the pitch and engagement off it.
Production value has increased since the move to Disney+ via ESPN, with a minimum of six cameras per match, rising to eight from the quarter-finals and up to fourteen cameras for the final, delivering a more immersive viewing experience. Disney provides coverage in 11 languages, each supported by a dedicated pregame show.
A key selling point of the new format was increased drama and intensity, and it has delivered. Expanded from four to six matchdays, the single-table format has ensured that qualification and seeding scenarios remained live until the final whistle on Matchday 6, when seven of nine matches still carried qualification stakes, compared with just three of eight final group games last season.
The league phase has featured players from 41 nations and delivered early top clashes, including two past finals and four past semi-finals. On Matchday 1, eight-time champions OL Lyonnes faced reigning holders Arsenal, renewing their rivalry from last season’s semi-final, with the French side delivering a statement win. On Matchday 4, Chelsea and FC Barcelona Femení met again after last season’s semi-final, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Chelsea have not lost at home to Barcelona; this is the fifth season in a row these two have faced off in this competition.
The single-table format has broadened elite-level experience for newcomers and emerging clubs. Debutants OH Leuven exemplified the competitiveness and unpredictability of the league phase by taking points off established teams, shaping the qualification battle and earning a place in the play-offs.
The competition is winning players' backing. Bayern München and England midfielder Georgia Stanway said, “It’s not a matter of playing the same team twice, both home and away, but it’s about being on it and focused, and in that moment, because you know you’re not going to play that team again. You need to make the most of the 90 minutes that are in front of you.”
The top four teams from the league phase, Barcelona, Olympique Lyonnais, Chelsea and Bayern München have secured direct qualification for the quarter-finals. The season will conclude at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on 23 May 2026, the first time the Norwegian capital will host the final.
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