TV viewing round-up: July 2014

The 2014 World Cup continued to dominate the top programmes list last month, with pride of place going to the final. Nearly 15 million viewers watched World Cup 2014: Germany vs Argentina on BBC One, which once again was the channel of preference for the major sporting occasion

July’s second most-watched programme was the semi-final clash between Brazil vs Germany, which left the hosting team 5-0 down within the opening 30 minutes. The stunning display from Germany managed to garner an average of 13.5 million viewers for the whole match (once again on BBC One).

Even though the game didn’t live up to the previous night’s heights, ITV’s coverage of Netherlands vs Argentina still attracted a sizeable audience. Just under 10 million people tuned in to see the somewhat lacklustre 0-0 draw, which the South American giants eventually won via a penalty shoot out.

The match which may have finally convinced America that there is a much better sport named football was also quite popular with UK sports fans. Belgium vs USA came alive in extra time, with the Europeans managing to stave off a determined American fightback in front of 7.8 million viewers.

Elsewhere Netherlands vs Costa Rica (8.4 million), Brazil vs Netherlands (7.7 million), France vs Germany (6 million), Brazil vs Columbia (7.5 million) and Argentina vs Belgium (4.6 million) rounded off the rest of the World Cup viewing for July.

That wasn’t the only sporting action this month, however, with the Commonwealth Games: Opening Ceremony garnering a decent amount of viewers. Though nothing on the scale of the 2012 London Olympics, an average audience of 7.7 million people watched John Barrowman, giant teacakes and the Loch Ness monster kick off the 11-day sporting extravaganza.

This year’s Wimbledon Men’s Final may not have featured home-grown talent Andy Murray, but viewers remained enthralled thanks to a five-set classic. The match between seven-time champion Roger Federer and 2011 winner Novak Djokovic pulled in an average audience of 5.3 million viewers – eventually won by Djokovic.

Also doing well this month was the return of Long Lost Family; which had 5.3 million viewers; Countryfile, featuring a visit to the Peak District seen by 6.8 million viewers; Jimmy McGovern’s one-off courtroom drama Common, which pulled in 5.1 million viewers; and the final of Celebrity Masterchef, which ended with 5.5 million viewers.

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