World Cup Ratings: Nearly 16 million watch England beat Croatia on ITV
England’s FIFA World Cup 2026 opener against Croatia delivered both a convincing victory on the pitch and a huge audience success for ITV, setting new viewing records across television and streaming.
ITV’s huge audience for England V Croatia
- Peak TV audience: 15.4 million
- Average match audience: 14.2 million
- Average coverage audience (8pm–11.35pm): 10 million
- 16-34 audience: 2.3 million
- ITVX peak traffic increase vs average evening: +363%
- ITVX peak traffic increase vs previous ITV World Cup high: +109%
- Final score: England 4-2 Croatia
- England’s next match: Ghana, 19 June
England’s World Cup Opener Delivers Record ITV Audience
ITV attracted a peak television audience of 15.4 million viewers for England’s opening FIFA World Cup 2026 fixture against Croatia on 17 June, as Thomas Tuchel’s side kicked off their Group L campaign with an entertaining victory. That number doesnt include people watching on mobiles, laptops or tablets.
Produced by ITV Sport Production, part of ITV Studios, the coverage became the highest-rated television event of 2026 to date. The peak audience surpassed The Traitors, which previously held the year’s largest audience with 9.8 million viewers, and marked the biggest audience on any channel or streaming service since UEFA Euro 2024.
The broadcast also resonated strongly with younger viewers, attracting 2.3 million people aged between 16 and 34, making it the most-watched programme among that demographic this year.
Across the full match, an average audience of 14.2 million viewers tuned in on television, while ITV’s wider coverage between 8pm and 11.35pm averaged 10 million viewers.
England and Croatia were level at 2-2 at half-time following a lively opening 45 minutes. Harry Kane scored twice for England, while Peter Musa and Martin Baturina responded for Croatia.
The Three Lions produced a dominant second-half display to pull clear, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford adding further goals to secure a 4-2 victory and an ideal start to England’s World Cup campaign.
BT’s network data highlighted the growing role of streaming in major sporting events. Peak traffic to ITVX during the match increased by 363 per cent compared with a typical evening as millions of fans watched online.
The England fixture also generated 109 per cent more peak ITVX traffic than the previous highest-performing ITV World Cup match on BT’s network, the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa on 11 June.
According to BT, the areas generating the highest levels of ITVX broadband traffic during the match were Croydon (CR0), Camborne (TR14) and Milton Keynes (MK10).
England’s next Group L fixture comes against Ghana on 19 June. The match will be shown live on BBC One and streamed via iPlayer.
