Nearly 24m Watch Lions Roar

03 Jul 2018 | tshego

Share on

A peak audience of 23.8 million people tuned in to watch England beat Colombia during Tuesday evening’s FIFA World Cup match, according to overnight figures.

The viewing figures gave broadcaster ITV an 81% share of the available audience, with more people tuning in to watch the England win their first World Cup penalty shoot-out ever.

The final moments of the match, which saw Tottenham’s Eric Dier put away the winning penalty, was the most watched five minutes of television since the London 2012 closing ceremony.

An average audience of 20.1 million watched the match from kick-off, with the viewership continuing to grow throughout the game.

According to the broadcaster’s figures, the most-watched single minute of Tuesday’s game was 21:52 BST, when 24.4 million people tuned in. At this point roughly four in five people watching TV in the UK (81%) were tuned to ITV.

The audience paid dividends for ITV, which gambled on the team progressing from the group stage to secure the first pick of the last 16 round of games, with the 7pm kick-off boosting figures during prime-time. Matches are split between BBC and ITV, with both broadcasters to show the final.

The moment. #threelions. pic.twitter.com/RVynUdrnza

— England (@England) July 3, 2018

A record 3.3 million people watched online via the ITV Hub, ITV said, making it ITV Hub’s most-watched live programme ever.

TV audiences have continued to build throughout the tournament, with England’s quarter-final match against Sweden to be broadcast on BBC, kicking off at 3pm.

England’s 6-1 group-stage victory over Panama reached a peak audience of over 14 million viewers, as well as a further 2.8 million via iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, while the team’s opening group game against Tunisia peaked at 18.3 million during the closing minutes. 18.5 million tuned in for the match with Belgium.

The biggest-ever average audience for an England World Cup game of recent years is 26.2 million, which was recorded for England’s semi-final against West Germany in 1990.

The FIFA World Cup remains a Category A protected event that must be available on free-to-air channels, alongside the likes of the FA Cup final, the Grand National, the Wimbledon Championships and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.