TV channels in Finland 2019, by audience share

In 2019, Yle TV1 was the most popular TV channel in Finland, with an audience share of 28.4 percent. It is operated by the public service broadcasting company Yle (Yleisradio), which reached 42 percent of the population on a daily basis as of 2019. The commercial television channel MTV3 was the second most watched TV channel with a share of 16.3 percent, followed by Yle TV2 (11.9 percent).

Record viewer numbers for World Ice Hockey Championship Final

The IIHF World Championship Final (Finland vs. Canada) attracted roughly 2.7 million viewers in May 2019, when the world championship title was won by Finland. It was the most watched ice-hockey game of all-time, and the viewer number represents almost half of the country’s population. Traditionally, the broadcast of the annual Independence Day Reception is the most watched television program of the year, reaching over two million viewers.

Traditional vs. online TV viewing

Around 70 percent of the Finnish people were watching online TV provided by broadcasting companies in 2019. Although the use of online services has steadily increased, 83 percent of the daily viewing time is spent on watching broadcast TV. Especially older age groups mainly watch broadcast television, while young people increasingly use advertising-based (AVoD) or subscription video on demand (SVoD) services.