Euro 2008 pens near record audience in Spain

Spain's Euro 2008 penalty shootout on Sunday was 300,000 viewers away from setting a new ratings record for the country.

The quarter-final shootout, which saw Spain defeat Italy, was watched by an average of 14m people, according to audience research body Sofres.

Ratings peaked at 15.9m as Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas scored the final penalty, securing the country its first major football tournament semi-final in 24 years.

The largest Spanish TV audience on record remains the 2002 Eurovision song contest final, however. The competition, in which Spain was represented by the victor of its Fame Academy incarnation, was watched by 14.3m.