More than 30m fans to watch Euro football tonight, say insiders
Tonight's football match will be one of the most-watched shows ever
Starmer gives answer on bank holiday if England win Euros
More than 30m football fans are expected to watch tonight's Euros final, rivalling the huge audiences for the 1966 World Cup victory, and Diana’s wedding.
One well-placed insider told the Sunday Express exclusively: “Any figure won’t, of course, fully capture the many millions watching in pubs etc (up to 10 per cent) but anything around 30m (combined of BBC and ITV) is historic and would put this into the all-time top 10 (including the1966 World Cup and the Charles & Diana wedding).”
The top five watched shows are the 1966 World Cup final (32.3m), Diana’s funeral (32.1m), Royal Family doc - 1969 (30.6m), Euro final Italy v England – (29.8m), and the Apollo 13 splashdown (28.6m).
Other sources are more bullish about the top-line figure, suggesting “even the King has indicated he will be watching”.
Said the source: “Just under 30m watched the final against Italy. That was in Covid times, which must have hit the figures.
“I think we’ll be surprised. I’m going for 50m, including streaming figures.”
It’s a payday for ITV regardless of the result.
Industry sources say a 30-second ad on the commercial broadcaster during the match is costing advertisers £500,000.
'Even the King has indicated he will be watching'
Both ITV and BBC have live coverage of the historic match, with kick-off at 8pm (British summer time).
The action comes live from the famous Olympiastadion in Berlin, the city where the BBC studio is also based.
Gary Lineker will again lead the coverage, from 6.30pm, on BBC iPlayer, and BBC One, with punditry expected from Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.
You can watch in HDR on iPlayer if you have a 4k TV.
Radio presenter Mark Chapman will be on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds for build up to the match from 7pm before live commentary begins at 8pm.
You can also watch the match on the BBC Sport website and app.
TV Coverage on ITV also gets underway at 6.30pm, and UEFA Euro 2024 runs until 10:45pm.
Mark Pougatch will helm the big night, with contributions expected from Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane.
If you don’t like football, Channel 4 are showing the Oscar-winning film, Titanic, from 6.15pm.
