World Cup 2018: England’s victory over Sweden seen by 20m fans
England’s decisive World Cup quarter-final victory over Sweden was watched by nearly 20 million viewers on BBC One, according to overnight figures.
An average of 15.8 million watched the whole match, which saw England secure a place in the semi-final.
The last minutes of the game were seen by 19.6 million viewers, who tuned in from 16:45-16:50 BST.
It was watched online by 3.8m people, making it the BBC’s highest online-viewed live programme ever.
The game received a 80.2% share of the audience during the match.
‘Humongous figures’
But the figures are lower than the 23.6 million who tuned in for England’s penalty shootout with Colombia earlier this week, which was an evening kick-off.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, who fronted the coverage of the quarter-final, said: “Humongous figures against England.
“Football’s coming to homes everywhere.”
During the match, videos on social media showed people on planes, at airports and even at weddings live-streaming the match on their phones.
Some couples organised their wedding around the game, postponing speeches until the final whistle had blown.
England now face Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday. It is the team’s first appearance in a World Cup semi-final since 1990.
The match starts at 19:00 BST and will be broadcast on ITV. Both ITV and the BBC will broadcast the World Cup final next Sunday.
Source: bbc.com
