A peak of 7.7 million viewers watched ITV’s coverage of the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 across TV and streaming, which saw tournament co-hosts Mexico secure a 2-0 win against South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca on 11 June.
Produced by ITV Sport Production, part of ITV Studios, the peak audience across ITV1 and ITVX is the highest peak audience of the year so far across UK commercial television and streaming. It is also ITV’s biggest 16-34 audience this year with 861,000.
From kick off to final whistle, an average of 6.6 million viewers watched the match across ITV1 and ITVX, with an average 5.9 million viewers watching the coverage from 7.50pm to 10.35pm.
ITV’s coverage of the first of the opening ceremonies peaked with 4.2 million viewers.
ITV will broadcast England’s first match of the tournament on Wednesday 17 June, with kick off at 9pm, as Thomas Tuchel’s men face Croatia in Group L on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
