England World Cup quarter-final delivers ITV’s biggest audience in a year
July 13, 2026 12.52 Europe/London By Julian Clover


ITV attracted its biggest television audience since the UEFA Euro 2024 final as England’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway drew a peak audience of 18 million viewers.

The broadcaster said the audience was the largest on any UK channel or streaming service so far this year, surpassing the previous high of 16.4 million for England’s opening World Cup group match against Croatia.

ITV also reported that 25 million people watched its television channels across the day, with the schedule including the FIFA World Cup, Nations Championship Rugby and ITV Racing from Newmarket.

The figures underline the continuing importance of major live sporting events to free-to-air broadcasters, with World Cup matches continuing to generate audiences that streaming platforms and subscription services struggle to match. They also reinforce the value of premium sports rights in attracting mass simultaneous audiences, particularly as broadcasters seek to demonstrate their reach to advertisers.

ITV said the 18 million figure includes television viewing and initial available streaming data.