How Newcastle and Manchester United smashed record in Wembley Carabao Cup final

The EFL have revealed Sunday’s Carabao Cup final was watched by a record audience of 4.26 million people on Sky Sports in the UK.

They state: “The peak audience was 60,000 higher than the previous record set in 2022 during the final between Liverpool and Chelsea. The average audience for the match was over half a million viewers higher than the previous year, with 3.79 million viewers tuning in across the 90 minutes in the UK and millions more watching around the globe with the match taken by 26 broadcasters and shown across 183 international territories. This record audience was driven by the reach of Sky Sports and extensive promotion of the competition across all linear, digital and social platforms by the broadcaster.”

In total, 87,306 supporters from Manchester and Newcastle filled Wembley, with Manchester United running out 2-0 winners.

It was the tournament’s highest final attendance since the 2014-15 season. The total number of fans attending a Carabao Cup fixture this season is almost at 1.6 million, with an average fixture attendance of 16,685, both the highest since 2001-02.

Newcastle United carved their way to the final with four home victories with over 50,000 supporters at St James’ Park in wins over Crystal Palace (51,660), Bournemouth (51,579), Leicester City (52,009) and Southampton (51,975).

Ben Wright, EFL Chief Commercial Officer, said: “These record-breaking figures demonstrate the continued popularity of the Carabao Cup, and the value the competition holds in the football calendar for supporters up and down the country.

“Over four million people watching at home and 87,000 spectators in the ground represented a fitting finale to a fantastic 2022-23 competition, and I would like to thank Sky Sports for making the coverage of this season’s Carabao Cup the best yet.”

Jonathan Licht, Managing Director at Sky Sports said “We are proud to be long term partners of the EFL and Carabao Cup, providing millions of fans access to the competitions across all our platforms. Through our scale, promotion, and innovation in coverage, we have continued to grow audiences for the Carabao Cup, and are pleased to see that reflected in this years’ final, in partnership with the EFL.”