Over 12 Million Watch England’s World Cup Defeat On BBC1

More than 12 million people tuned into the BBC last Friday to watch England get knocked out of the World Cup finals.

The match, which kicked off at 7.30am and saw England lose 2:1 to Brazil in the quarter finals on the tournament, saw viewing levels peak at 13.1 million midway through the second half of the game, securing a 71% share of the available audience.

According to the BBC, this represents the largest Friday morning audience seen by any channel in the last ten years. In comparison an average of just 3.6 million viewers watched ITV1’s coverage of the game, which saw audiences peak at 4 million, representing a 20.2% share of viewing.

A spokesman for the BBC said: “We are delighted with this strong performance, which proves that viewers are turning to the BBC for major sporting events.”

Speculation suggests that ITV’s less than impressive World Cup viewing figures (see BBC Scores Against ITV In World Cup Coverage) could be a result of a campaign to boycott ITV’s football coverage as a reprisal for Carlton and Granada’s failure to pay Football League clubs the £180m it owes them (see Football League Kicks Off Action Against ITV Digital Owners). However, a spokesperson for ITV, which has seen revenues rise as a result of the tournament (see England’s World Cup Progress Boosts ITV Ad Revenue), denied that this was cause for concern.

Broadcasters had been concerned that viewing figures for this World Cup would be lower than in the past due to the anti-social kick-off times of most of the games. However, BARB has today confirmed that the “World Cup Effect” has boosted TV viewing figures by nearly 20% this month, with viewing levels up across all major demographics (see World Cup Adds 20% To TV Audiences).

BARB’s figures do not take into account those watching the matches in pubs or on giant TV screens, which have been erected in cities across the UK (see Trafalgar Square Giant Screen Attracts Crowds).

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk

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