Moldova Eurovision viewing more than doubles

Eurovision viewing jumped sharply in Moldova and Serbia after both countries reached the 2026 Grand Final, according to audience data published this week by broadcasters and fan outlets. Eurovoix reported on May 23 that Moldova’s Grand Final audience more than doubled from 2024, while Serbia also posted much stronger live-show shares. The figures were released a week after the contest in Vienna, where Bulgaria’s Dara won with “Bangaranga.” Italy’s broadcaster RAI has separately published a full breakdown of its televote after Italy finished fifth. ### How big was the jump in Moldova? Teleradio-Moldova said 67,054 people watched the Eurovision Grand Final on Moldova 1, with an audience share of 20.94% and a peak of 37.41% during the voting, according to reports carried by Eurovoix and Moldovan outlet Logos Press. The 2026 final audience was up 251% from Moldova’s 2024 Grand Final audience, Eurovoix’s report said, after the country returned to the contest and reached the Saturday show. Moldova had not competed in 2025, and Eurovision Fun said the increase came alongside Satoshi’s eighth-place finish with “Viva Moldova!” (logos-pres.md) Radio Moldova separately reported that Moldova 1 aired the semi-finals on May 12 and May 14 and the final on May 16, all drawing notable shares in the local market. ### Why did Serbia’s numbers rise too? Eurovoix reported on May 23 that Serbia’s viewing shares for the 2026 live shows were released after the country also returned to the Grand Final. Eurovision Fun said both Moldova and Serbia recorded “skyrocketing” figures helped by making Saturday’s final after either missing the contest or failing to qualify in the previous cycle. (eurovisionfun.com) (radiomoldova.md) OGAE Serbia was cited in reports on the Serbian audience data, though the clearest common point across the coverage was the direction of travel rather than a single headline number: the live-show shares were materially higher this year. ### What was happening around Eurovision 2026 more broadly? Vienna hosted the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in May, and the event drew unusually heavy political and media attention. (eurovoix.com) Cyprus Mail described the 2026 edition as a year of “boycotts and chaos,” while Deutsche Welle and Politico reported that Bulgaria won amid disputes over Israel’s participation and several country withdrawals. (eurovisioncentral.com) Dara won for Bulgaria with “Bangaranga,” according to Cyprus Mail, Deutsche Welle and NBC News. Politico reported that Bulgaria won with 516 points and that Dara topped both jury and public voting. ### Why does Italy’s televote breakdown matter here? RAI published a full breakdown of the Italian televote after Italy finished fifth, according to That Eurovision Site and Eurovision Fun. (cyprus-mail.com) The release gives a country-by-country look at how Italian viewers voted in the semi-finals and Grand Final. Eurovision Fun reported that Moldova topped the Italian public vote in both the first semi-final and the Grand Final, offering one concrete sign that Moldova’s entry resonated beyond its home audience. (cyprus-mail.com) That does not explain the Moldovan ratings surge on its own, but it adds context to the broader post-contest interest around the country’s result. (thateurovisionsite.com) ### What comes next after these ratings releases? Eurovoix’s Eurovision 2026 coverage page is continuing to publish country-by-country audience updates as broadcasters release post-contest data. Bulgaria is now expected to move into preparations for hosting Eurovision 2027 after Dara’s win in Vienna. (eurovoix.com) (eurovisionfun.com)