The Lionesses’ dramatic 2-1 win ended England’s 56-year wait for a major football trophy and 80% of all viewers watched as the extra-time winner came in at a sold-out Wembley on Sunday night. The peak audience of 17.4 million viewers makes BBC One’s biggest televised event of the year so far and there was an average audience of 11 million across the entire Match of the Day schedule from 4.50pm to 9.30pm. Tim Davey, director general of the BBC, said: “We are incredibly proud to champion women’s football and are thrilled to be able to bring such a special sporting moment to audiences. “This has been the most-watched women’s football match on British TV of all time and the most-watched program of 2022 so far – and deservedly so.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST In terms of average viewership, Queen’s platinum-selling concert remains the most-watched program of the year, with 13.1 million viewers. However, many more viewers would watch the Euro final in pubs and fan zones up and down the country, and this is not reflected in the official viewing figures. Alongside the telecast, there were 5.9 million streams on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app as viewers watched goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly seal victory for England at a major international tournament for the first time since 1966. The previous most-watched women’s soccer match on UK TV was an average of 9 million viewers, topping the 11.7 million who watched England’s semi-final defeat by the USA at the 2019 World Cup. The clash also broke records in Germany, where broadcaster ARD attracted an average audience of 17.8 million – 65% of all viewers – making it the most watched women’s football match in history. The previous record audience was set during the Women’s World Cup in 2011, when 16.9 million tuned in to watch hosts Germany get knocked out by Japan in the quarter-finals. The BBC will broadcast coverage of a victory parade for the lionesses in Trafalgar Square in London on Monday evening.
