Almost 20 million Brits tuned in to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup final – with BBC reigning superior over rival broadcast ITV.
BBC One was watched by 14.9 million people, while just 4.3 million tuned into ITV’s coverage, which aired simultaneously, to see Argentina beat France in a pulsating final on Sunday afternoon.
The South American side, captained by Lionel Messi who scored twice, won 4-2 on penalties after an end-to-end 3-3 draw which saw France’s Kylian Mbappe grab a hat-trick.
Gary Lineker, who presented BBC’s coverage, tweeted: “Sensational numbers for last night’s World Cup final classic. 14.9 million on BBC One and 7.1 million streams on BBC iPlayer online.
“That makes 22 million by my reckoning on BBC. Thank you for choosing us.”
Lineker was joined by Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Pablo Zabaleta, while ITV had a punditry lineup of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright presented by Mark Pougatch.
Pougatch tweeted: “Privilege to be at the greatest World Cup final of them all. Hope you enjoyed our coverage; we gave it our all!
“A massive effort in front and behind the camera. Proud to work with such a talented, fun, creative team.”
Picture courtesy: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
