Entertainment

Queen continues to rule TV ratings chart despite Euro 2022 final

The top three biggest TV audiences of the year so far are all for live events.
The top three biggest TV audiences of the year so far are all for live events. The top three biggest TV audiences of the year so far are all for live events.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert has held on to its spot at the top of the 2022 TV ratings chart, seeing off a challenge from England’s victory in the final of the women’s Euros, new figures show.

The star-studded concert, which took place in front of Buckingham Palace in early June, was watched by an average of 13.1 million people on BBC One.

England’s appearance in the Euro 2022 final at the end of July was always likely to pull in one of the biggest TV audiences of the year, with overnight ratings suggesting more than 17 million were watching at the moment the final whistle blew.

But official figures released on Monday show that average ratings for the whole of BBC One’s coverage of the game did not quite manage to overtake the royal knees-up, coming in at 11.2 million.

However, this is still the highest average audience in the UK for coverage of a women’s football match.

SHOWBIZ Ratings
SHOWBIZ Ratings (PA Graphics)

Official ratings are published by the research organisation Barb and are consolidated figures, meaning they include people who recorded and watched the broadcast up to seven days later.

They cover viewers watching on TV sets, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

The new figures for the Euro 2022 final mean the top three biggest audiences of the year so far are all for live events.

The Jubilee concert and the football are followed in third place by the Eurovision Song Contest, shown by BBC One in mid-May, which attracted an average TV audience of 9.3 million.

Close behind is the final episode of BBC One thriller The Tourist, which aired in January and had 9.1 million viewers.