World Cup 2018 TV viewing figures: incredible 23.6 million viewers tune in as England beat Colombia on penalties
Over 20 million watched the whole of England's knockout round win, with the audience peaking just as England won their first ever World Cup penalty shootout
Over 20 million viewers tuned in to watch England's nerve-wracking, exhilarating World Cup 2018 win over Colombia on ITV.
The huge audience peaked at 23.6 million during the final moments as England secured their first ever World Cup victory on penalty shootouts, making it the most watched moment of TV since the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony.
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An average audience of 20.1 million watched the match on ITV according to industry viewing figures, with over 80 per cent of everybody watching TV at the time tuned in to the England game.
The audience figure tops the previous World Cup audience peak of 18.5 million for England's final group game against Belgium.
ITV claimed that a further 3.3 million requests were made to watch the match online via ITV Hub. The broadcaster also said that their coverage recorded a one-minute peak of 24.4 million viewers on TV.
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England fans and pundits alike celebrated wildly after Eric Dier's penalty secured England's passage through to the quarter-finals.
On ITV, Ian Wright, Lee Dixon and Gary Neville embraced as the final penalty went in.
While the BBC's Gary Lineker celebrated the staggering numbers, pointing out that as the figures focus on viewers watching at home the overall audience could be far higher.
England next play Sweden at 3pm on Saturday 7th July, with the match broadcast live on BBC1.
