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. A peak audience of 19.9 million viewers were watching as the match ended.
It was live-streamed online by 3.8 million people, making it the BBC’s highest online-viewed live programme ever.
The game received an 89% share of the TV audience at its peak.
‘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 again for England.
“Football’s coming to homes everywhere.”
Overall, 3.9 million people either live-streamed the game or accessed the match on catch-up that evening via BBC iPlayer or BBC Sport.
During the match, 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.