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Spain Barely Escaping Croatia In Euro 2012 Is Most-Watched Event In Spanish TV History, Ahead Of 2010 World Cup Win

Entering the 88th minute of their final group play match yesterday, Spain was deadlocked with Croatia 0-0. If they conceded a goal, they would be sent home — a fate worse than death for the heavily favored Spanish side. Unsurprisingly, lots of Spaniards were watching from the edges of their seats, and believe it or not, even more of them were watching the Croatia match than Spain’s victory in the 2010 World Cup Final.

The Spanish channel Telecinco had nearly 18.14 million viewers watching the final moment of the match (!), which was the most-watched moment in the history of Spanish television. The viewing share was a ridiculous 78.2 percent, also outranking the World Cup final (!!).

The match’s overall figures (not just the last moment) claim an average of 14.2 million viewers and a 70.4% audience share, which was good for fourth all time. It only trails the 2008 Euro Cup quarterfinal and final, as well as the 2010 World Cup final (and Julio Iglesias) in terms of awe-stricken Spaniards held captive.

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