An average UK audience of 7.8 million watched England vs Iran in the World Cup on BBC One, according to reports.
Using ratings from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), this figure compared to 9.4 million viewers for the Wales/USA match on ITV.
Whilst Wales played in prime time evening hours, the England game took place during working hours on a Monday, which may be the reason behind some of the figures.
FIFA revealed that the 2018 World Cup in Russia saw a record audience of over 3.5 billion people, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers.
France’s 4-2 victory in the final, which gave them their second World Cup title, was the most watched game of the competition.
In other World Cup news this week, Flutter Entertainment confirmed that the Qatar-based competition is set to be its most popular betting event of the calendar year.
Sky Betting & Gaming, Paddy Power and Betfair UK – the sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider’s UK and Ireland brands – predicted over £300m in stakes from fans of England and Wales.
