England’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Mexico kicked off at 02:00 BST on Monday and
set new TV records for a live broadcast in that timeslot.
However, viewers in London’s eight inner postcodes were less likely to watch live or on catch-up than audiences elsewhere in the UK.
Blackburn, Oldham, Bolton, Birmingham, Bradford, Sunderland and Wolverhampton all ranked in the top 10 instead, while some London areas barely made the top 100.
Beyond home nations fixtures, start times and star power have been key drivers of audience size.
France’s opener against Senegal, helped by a primetime slot (20:00 BST) and the presence of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, drew the UK’s second-largest group-stage audience, behind England–Ghana.
Portugal’s match with DR Congo and Argentina’s game against Austria were also among the most watched, boosted by earlier kick-offs (18:00 BST) and the superstar appeal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The least popular fixtures typically involved smaller nations and were scheduled at midnight (00:00 BST) or later.