Kick-off may have been delayed to 2AM local time on Monday, but it did not stop a record number of Brits from staying up to watch England‘s triumph in Mexico City.
The BBC has revealed that its coverage of England’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Mexico in the FIFA World Cup round of 16 was watched by a peak live audience of 9.1M across BBC One and iPlayer.
The coverage averaged 7.8M viewers over the period it was on air, which the BBC said was the biggest television audience ever for a live UK broadcast between 2AM and 4AM.
It was triple the previous overnight record for the Rio 2016 Olympics, when 3M stayed up to watch Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and Greg Rutherford’s medal-winning performances for Team GB.
A repeat of the England game on BBC Two at 7AM also performed well, delivering a peak audience of 1.1M and an average audience of 900,000, according to the BBC.
The British broadcaster added that the World Cup action helped generate 48M requests for iPlayer, making it the busiest day ever for the streaming service.
BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski said: “These are phenomenal figures and a brilliant reflection of what happens when the nation comes together behind England.
“Millions of fans sacrificed a night’s sleep to witness an unforgettable World Cup victory, while millions more caught up as soon as they woke up. It was one of those truly special sporting moments that people simply couldn’t afford to miss.”