ITV wins World Cup ratings battle with BBC in tournament’s first week
ITV is beating the BBC in the battle for TV viewers after the first week of the World Cup. Official numbers show that ITV had four of the five biggest television audiences so far. The top match was England’s four to two win over Croatia. Played in Dallas, this game got a peak audience of over fifteen million viewers on ITV. An average of ten million people watched the match, making it the most watched TV show in the UK this year. The BBC got fewer viewers because they chose to show more of the later games in the tournament. But for now, ITV is winning the fight for the biggest crowds.