ITV wins World Cup ratings battle with BBC in tournament’s first week

<ul><li><p>England v Croatia attracted year’s highest UK TV figures</p></li><li><p>BBC opted for more first-pick games in knockout stages</p></li></ul><p>ITV is winning the UK television ratings battle after the first week of the World Cup. Viewing figures obtained by the Guardian from Barb, which measures audience numbers, show the commercial channel had four of the five highest TV audiences, topped by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/england-croatia-world-cup-2026-group-l-match-report">England’s 4-2 win</a> over Croatia.</p><p>England’s victory in Dallas attracted a peak audience of 15.4 million on ITV and an average of more than 10 million, the highest UK TV viewing figures of the year.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/19/itv-wins-world-cup-ratings-battle-bbc-first-week-england-croatia">Continue reading...</a>