TV Overnights: Football fatigue helps Coronation Street score 7.2m viewers for ITV

So, we’ve all made it to the last day of the group stages and the end is finally viewable, far off on the distant horizon. Soaps have been moved, couples have compromised and livers have been damaged; all in the name of Euro 2012. The BBC could only choose one of two final Group C games to step up to the BBC One slot and get the 45-minutes-of-expert-guesswork treatment. It was the Croatia v Spain (7pm) match that was deemed the more worthy of the two with the action kicking off at 7:45pm.

An average audience of 6.3 million stayed tuned for the entire coverage resulting in a 28% audience share for the programme. As usual the audience soared in the final fifteen minutes with a peak audience of 8.3 million witnessing the game’s only goal. Jesús Navas secured a victory for Spain in the 88th minute, sending Croatia out of the tournament.

It’s as if the result of the second game was a foregone conclusion as Italy v Republic of Ireland (7:30pm) was banished to the depths of BBC Three and as a result attracted a small percentage of the main match’s audience. On the plus side Manish Bhasin only spent 15 minutes introducing the game which also began at 7:45pm. After 35 minutes of teasing, Italy’s Antonio Cassano put the Irish out of their misery – sending a clear signal about who would be going home.

Despite Ireland’s best efforts, and some great singing from fans, the final nail in the coffin came in the form of Mario Balotelli in the 90th minute. 970,000 viewers (a 4.2% share) made up the average audience that stayed tuned for the whole event with interested peaking surprisingly early in the game. A peak of 1.3 million people tuned in to the game half an hour in.

Meanwhile on Coronation Street (remember that?) Karl and Sunita’s ‘dangerous’ secret reached new levels of tedium as their clandestine ways were beginning to grate those around them. It’s not as if their respective partners haven’t figure out what going on yet; like many of the viewers, they just don’t care. Last night indicated a slight football fatigue might be creeping in to the nation’s TV audience as Coronation Street (ITV1, 7:30pm) jumped back up to the top spot.

Tuesday’s episode saw Sunita worry that Eve might be on to them, after walking in on the shadowy couple looking all flustered (as is their default position now). Just to really set her Spidey-Sense tingling, Eve also spotted a GIANT WAD OF CASH hanging out of Karl’s pocket. It would be less obvious if they spray-painted a declaration of their love on the side of a tram and drove it off the viaduct down the middle of the street. 7.2 million viewers watched all the gripping drama unfold, securing a 34% audience share.

Later on BBC One, the second of five instalments of True Love (10:30pm) illicitly attracted 2.8 million viewers. The improvised drama, which focuses on a new couple each episode, earned a 19% audience share.

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations.