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Sunday’s women’s Boat Race became the country’s most watched female sporting event this year, TV broadcasting data has revealed.
The peak figure of over 2.1m tops the previous 2025 record, when 1.2m watched England’s Lionesses play in the Uefa Women’s Nations League match against Belgium on ITV1, which took place earlier this month at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate.
Kantar analysis for BARB figures suggest there was a 14 per cent growth in audience viewership on last year’s edition, which saw the Oxford University and Cambridge University women’s crews clash oars early on, and a 25 per cent hike on share of views.
It comes as 2.8m tuned in for the Boat Race coverage on BBC 1, where both Cambridge crews stormed to victories along the River Thames in an event which is estimated to contribute up to £15m to the local London economies of Fulham, Putney and the surrounding areas.
Boat Race surging ahead
Chair of the Boat Race Company, Siobhan Cassidy, commented: “The Boat Race represents the best of British – two world-leading universities competing in one of the oldest major sporting events.
“Each year we tell the stories of the highs and lows of the student athletes competing in this amateur race – epitomising the athletic challenge, personal sacrifice and teamwork required to secure a seat in the boat.”
The 2025 race – sponsored by Chanel for the first time – was shrouded in controversy, however, with Oxford using rule technicalities surrounding educational degrees to force Cambridge rowers out of their boat before the race and severe concerns being raised around the quality of the capital’s waterways.
The results on Sunday, in front of an estimated 200,000 fans on the banks of the River Thames, extended Cambridge’s winning margins to 88-81 in the men’s race and 49-30 in the women’s edition. They’ve enjoyed recent dominance in the regatta.
