England and Spain‘s nail-biting Euro 2024 final was watched by a peak of around 24 million viewers last night, failing to match the England vs Italy final three years ago.
The coverage on both the BBC and ITV averaged around 15 million across its hours-long run time, which was just ahead of the semi-final victory over the Netherlands.
According to Barb data supplied by overnights.tv, the game was viewed by 11.3 million on BBC One and a further 3.7 million on ITV, with a share just shy of 75% of overall viewers. In all likelihood, the rating was higher as viewing in pubs is not taken into account by Barb.
The broadcast becomes the most-watched of the year so far but was behind England’s previous final in 2021 against Italy, which was watched by a peak of 31 million. Other top-rated TV events of the recent past include the funerals of Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II, and Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 addresses.
Last night provided more heartbreak for Gareth Southgate’s embattled England, who lost 2-1, with Mikel Oyarzabal putting the decisive ball in the net just four minutes before the end of the match.
Spain were the best side throughout the tournament and their victory was deserved. England captain and talisman Harry Kane was once again substituted and images of him looking forlorn near the winner’s trophy were doing the rounds on social media last night.