ITV had a major win over the BBC in the battle for England fans’ viewership during the Euro 2024 final.
The British broadcasting powerhouses aired the Three Lions’ second successive European Championship final defeat on Sunday night.
A whopping 24.2 million viewers watched England‘s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Spain in Berlin across both channels.
Just over 22 million people watched the agonising match from start to finish.
Over a third of England fans – 35 per cent to be precise – made ITV their port of call to watch the match, which was aired on ITV1 and streamed on ITVX.
That represented a 12 per cent points increase for the broadcaster from the Euro 2020 final in the summer of 2021.
The figure saw ITV set a new record for their highest-ever viewing share for a major men’s football tournament final.
Euro 2024 was a resounding success for the broadcaster, who had two of the three highest rating matches.
They also had the biggest audience on a single channel, with a peak of 21.6 million tuning in for England’s last-gasp semi-win over the Netherlands on all their platforms.
That was in keeping with their recent dominance of the single-channel audience, which they’ve had for the last six major men’s football tournaments.
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COLE PALMER came off the bench to be England’s star man – but his heroics were unable to stop heartbreak against Spain, writes Tom Barclay.
Mikel Oyarzabal struck a late dagger through the hearts of the Three Lions to seal a 2-1 Spanish victory.
And that ensured that 58 years of hurt will go on.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay rated each England player in the crushing defeat:
Jordan Pickford: 8
Carefully controlled a blast of a backpass from John Stones on his line in the first half. Could do little to stop Williams’ opener but made two terrific stops to deny Yamal, only for Oyarzabal to poke home at the death.
Kyle Walker: 6
Had his hands full with Williams but managed the Spanish livewire pretty well but could not get near his powerful opener.
John Stones: 8
A colossus again as he played every single minute of this Euros, despite lack of Manchester City game-time. Superb block on early Williams shot, was often in the right place at the right time and at one point dribbled all the way up the pitch.
Marc Guehi: 6
Solid alongside Stones and overall it has been a brilliant first tournament for the Crystal Palace star. But Oyarzabal nicked in front of him for the winner.
Bukayo Saka: 7
Most consistent attacker for England across the tournament and had a good battle with pantomime villain Marc Cucurella here. It was his cross that Bellingham laid off for Palmer to work his magic.
Declan Rice: 7
Went past his boss Gareth Southgate’s cap haul by winning his 58th here and he is still only 25. Was in the thick of it in the midfield battle throughout.
Kobbie Mainoo: 5
Just 19 and starting a major final for England in the middle of midfield. Fewer bursts forward though than in recent games as his side struggled for possession and was subbed for Palmer as Southgate searched for a leveller.
Luke Shaw: 7
Looked so sharp for a player making his first start since Luton away on February 10, winning his battle against Lamine Yamal in the first half. But Yamal got the better of him after the break to tee up Williams’ opener.
Phil Foden: 6
Out of possession it was his job to man-mark Manchester City colleague Rodri, until the Spanish maestro went off injured at half-time. Had a half-chance just before the break but could not beat Unai Simon.
Jude Bellingham: 7
Shunted wide left when England did not have the ball – which was a lot of the time. Riskily flew into a few tackles, but it was his clever lay-off that teed up Palmer.
Harry Kane: 4
His lack of involvement was summed up by England fans calling for Ollie Watkins in the 57th minute. They got their wish on the hour.
SUBS:
Ollie Watkins: 6
Semi-final hero was introduced far earlier here to get some legs in behind, though he did not have too much impact this time.
Cole Palmer: 9
What an impact after emerging with just twenty minutes to go. Yet another of Southgate’s subs paid off handsomely as Palmer curled a peach of an equaliser with 17 minutes remaining, sending most of the Olympiastadion potty.
Ivan Toney: 6
Thrown on right at the end but could not make an impact.
Gareth Southgate: 7
The game was a chess match for the first half and Southgate was never going to go early with his bold moves.
His subs were excellent to be fair, with Palmer brilliantly getting his team back into it.
Critics will say England did not play attacking enough but Spain are one hell of a side – and Southgate’s men pushed them all the way.
Success is something Gareth Southgate may never experience with the Three Lions boss.
The 53-year-old hinted that he could walk away from the job before a ball had even been kicked in Germany.
And the former defender dropped a huge hint he could end his reign as England manager in the coming days by referring to his players as “they” in one of his post-match interviews.
He said: “I think England are in a really good position in terms of the experiences they’ve got now. The age of the squad.
“Most of this squad are going to be around not only for the World Cup but the next Euros as well.
“There’s a lot to look forward to but this moment is not any consolation.”
When further pressed on his future, Southgate added: “I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that.
“I need to talk to the right people. It’s not for now.”
