More than nine million people across the United Kingdom stayed up very late to watch some or all of England’s 3-2 win over Mexico at the FIFA World Cup tournamnet on Monday, according to data revealed by the broadcaster’s lead executive this week.
Speaking before lawmakers on Wednesday, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said 9.1 million people watched the match live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, delivering the largest after-hours audience in the broadcaster’s history. The game concluded around 4 a.m. local time after a full-time match.
Another 5 million British fans watched the game on the BBC’s various catch-up services, Brittin affirmed, while 1.5 million viewers took advantage of a replay at a more-reasonable hour on BBC Two.
The average audience for the initial telecast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer was 7.8 million viewers, the broadcaster said.
The live audience was more than triple the overnight viewership of Britain’s involvement in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, which took place in Brazil that year. The time zone difference, coupled with the BBC’s insistence on airing games live instead of on a tape-delay (as others, like NBC, do), meant British viewers who wanted a collective experience had to stay up past bedtime to watch events from that tournament.
Then, most viewership took place on the BBC’s linear television platform; this time around, the BBC saw a significant increase in its streaming service, with nearly 12 million requests to BBC iPlayer and other digital platforms where the BBC’s content is available.
The BBC Sport app saw a surge in downloads immediately before and during the match, executives at the broadcaster said, though no specific figures were provided. A live blog that ran on the BBC Sport website generated more than 13.3 million domestic page views, with 15 million viewers coming to the BBC’s main website for information.
In addition to its traditional channels, the BBC also offered an upconverted, ultra high-definition (UHD) feed of the Mexico-England match, which was viewed by more than 1 million streamers. The peak audience for the UHD feed stood at 680,000 viewers. Other broadcasters, including Fox and Telemundo in the United States, are also offering UHD feeds to sports fans through their respective platforms.
