England’s victory against Croatia in the World Cup drew a peak TV audience of 15.4 million in the UK, according to viewing figures from Barb. The match, broadcast on ITV, also averaged over 10 million viewers, making it the highest UK TV viewing figures of the year.
ITV is winning the UK television ratings battle after the first week of the World Cup. The commercial channel had four of the five highest TV audiences, topped by England’s 4-2 win over Croatia. The opening match between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa attracted a peak audience of 7.7 million, while the BBC’s live coverage of France v Senegal obtained a peak of 6.7 million. ITV’s Spain v Cape Verde and Netherlands v Japan completed the top five, with peaks of 6.1 million and 6 million respectively.
The Barb viewing figures include those watching on main channels and streaming services through a television but not those on laptops or mobile phones. When including BBC stream viewers on laptops and mobiles, France v Senegal peaked at 7.6 million, and Portugal v DR Congo and Belgium v Egypt had peaks of 6.7 million and 6.5 million.
The BBC traditionally attracts better live sport ratings than ITV but is likely to get higher audiences for the final. The BBC gambled in pre-tournament negotiations by opting for more first-pick games in the knockout stages. It will have first choice in the last 32, last 16, and semi-finals, as well as England’s second group game against Ghana.
The BBC also showed Scotland’s first World Cup game in 38 years against Haiti, which attracted a peak audience of 2.8 million despite a 2am UK kick-off. The audience on BBC One comprised 78% of UK TV viewers at the time, rising to 92% in Scotland.
Most of ITV’s biggest games come early, though it also has England’s third group game against Panama and any England quarter-final, potentially against Brazil on a Saturday night. ITV’s coverage has been well received critically, largely due to its stunning Brooklyn studio with views of the Manhattan skyline. The BBC has been criticised for basing its presentation from Salford studios, though it has sound financial reasons.
The new BBC director general, Matt Brittin, has begun announcing significant efficiency savings that could lead to up to 2,000 job losses as it attempts to reduce its budget by £500m over three years. The BBC has been criticised for not offering a daily highlights programme on TV, but its digital highlights have been streamed 11.6 million times on BBC iPlayer this week, a 197% increase from the first week of Euro 2024.
