An average of 12.7m tuned into coverage of England’s 5-1 defeat of Germany in the World Cup qualifier on Saturday, giving BBC Sport a welcome boost. Unofficial overnights, which only take into account those watching at home, not those in pubs, suggest that 14.6m tuned in for the final 15 minutes of the match, giving BBC1 a 52% share of viewing for the evening.
This is the highest Saturday peaktime audience achieved by any channel in the last five years, and was described by the BBC director of sport, Peter Salmon, as “a massive vote of confidence.” The BBC has suffered some considerable losses to its portfolio of sporting rights in recent years, but may well be indulging in a little schadenfreude at the lacklustre launch of ITV’s Premiership (see Premiership Slips Down Ratings League).
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