Sanremo Music Festival’s opening night viewership and share: Conti loses 3 million viewers compared to last year
SANREMO – The first night of the 2026 Sanremo Music Festival drew 9.6 million viewers, representing a 58% share of the audience, according to initial ratings data.
The first portion of the broadcast (from 9:42 PM to 11:34 PM) recorded 13.158 million viewers with a 57.7% share, while the second part (from 11:38 PM to 1:32 AM) garnered 6.045 million viewers for a 58.7% share.
Last year, the first episode of the Sanremo Music Festival had 13.327 million viewers in the Sanremo Start segment (8:41 PM – 9:10 PM) for a 51.88% share. The first part (9:15 PM – 11:26 PM) reached 16.199 million viewers, with a 63.68% share. The second part (11:30 PM – 1:20 AM) had 8.322 million viewers for a 69.25% share. The average was 12.6 million viewers for a 65.3% share.
As is tradition, the morning after sees viewership data compared to previous editions of the Festival. This year, a direct comparison can be made again, given that the Total Audience revolution introduced in 2025 has been confirmed. Viewership data therefore follows the same metrics and can be compared without risking errors. It’s worth remembering that with Sanremo 2025, the system for measuring viewership data changed with the introduction of Total Audience by Auditel in December 2024. This new system means that ratings no longer only account for viewers of traditional television, but also those watching on mobile devices, smart TVs and online streaming platforms like RaiPlay. A more comprehensive system that also considers the different habits of new viewers. The last Amadeus-hosted festival, in 2024, already benefited from a form of Total Audience measurement, but it wasn’t the same one introduced by Auditel in December 2024 and confirmed with last year’s festival. Auditel’s Total Audience also counts viewership of programs watched on delay.
This represents why last year it was said that it would not be possible to compare Amadeus’ last Sanremo with Conti’s in 2025, precisely because the systems for measuring viewership do not align.
A necessary preface, before recalling the viewership data from previous Sanremo festivals. For those passionate about ratings, however, we provide the numbers from the most recent festivals before the Total Audience revolution.
In 2024, the last Festival hosted by Amadeus, the opening night was watched by an average of 10.6 million viewers for a 65.1% share. The Sanremo Start segment (from 8:44 PM to 9:19 PM) recorded 12.967 million viewers for a 51.11% share. The first part (9:25 PM – 11:31:33 PM) was followed by 15.075 million viewers for a 64.34% share. The second part (11:34 PM – 1:59 AM) had 6.527 million viewers for a 66.84% share. The peak viewership was recorded at 10:09 PM with 16.786 million viewers. The peak share was set at 12:15 AM with 70.1%.
The previous year, in 2023, the opening night of Sanremo, marked by Blanco’s outburst and Chiara Ferragni’s monologue, was followed by 10.757 million viewers with a 62.4% share, the highest since 1995. In the first part (9:18 PM-11:44 PM) there were 14.170 million viewers with a 61.7% share, in the second part (11:48 PM-1:40 AM) 6.296 million with a 64.7% share.
In 2022, the opening night of the Festival was followed by an average of 10.911 million viewers, equal to a 54.7% share. The first part (9:23 PM-11:38 PM) was followed by 13.805 million viewers, equal to a 54.5% share. The second part (11:43 PM-1:12 AM) was viewed by 6.412 million viewers, equal to a 55.4% share.
In 2021, the average viewership of the event – still hosted by Amadeus – was 8.363 million viewers, equal to a 46.6% share. The first part was followed by 11.176 million Italians, with a 46.3% share, while the second part by 4.212 million viewers, equal to a 47.7% share.
In 2020, the first festival hosted by Amadeus reached 10.058 million average viewers, with a 52.2% share. The first part of the opening night (9:35 PM-12:00 AM) was followed by 12.480 million viewers with a 51.24% share while the second (12:00 AM-1:24 AM) by 5.698 million viewers, with a 56.22% share.
Looking at Conti’s older festivals, excluding last year’s which we’ve already discussed, we have to go back eleven years: Conti’s first Sanremo was in 2015, followed by 2016 and then 2017. In 2015, the opening night of the festival hosted by the Tuscan presenter was followed by 11.768 million viewers, with a 49.3% share. In 2016, 11.134 million people watched the first night, with a 49.5% share and in 2017 there were 11.373 million, with a 50.4% share. A continuous increase.
The most-watched first night in history was that of the 1987 Festival, with 17.5 million viewers: an edition hosted by Pippo Baudo and won by Gianni Morandi, Enrico Ruggeri and Umberto Tozzi with the song Si può dare di più. The artistic director was Mario Ravera. As for share, the first place goes to the opening night of the Sanremo Festival in 1988, with 69.5 percentage points: an edition hosted by Miguel Bosé and Gabriella Carlucci with Carlo Massarini (from Palarock), artistic director Marco Ravera and winner Massimo Ranieri with Perdere l’amore.
