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In the United Kingdom, viewing figures – the number of viewers or households watching a television programme – have been recorded by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) since 1981. Prior to the board's formation, figures were conducted by different means, such as the BBC financing its own audience research, while the ITV companies sub-contracted theirs.
Most watched special events
The majority of special events attracting large audiences are often carried on more than one channel. The most watched special event programme of all time on a single channel in the UK is the 1973 wedding ceremony of Princess Anne, shown only on BBC One.
- Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute (BFI)
- Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
| Rank | Event | Average audience (millions) | Date | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1966 FIFA World Cup final: England v West Germany | 32.30[1] | 30 July 1966 | BBC/ITV |
| 2 | Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales | 32.10[2] | 6 September 1997 | BBC/ITV |
| 3 | Royal Family (documentary) | 30.69[1] | 21 June 1969 and 28 June 1969 | BBC/ITV |
| 4 | UEFA Euro 2020 final: Italy v England | 29.85[3] | 11 July 2021 | BBC/ITV |
| 5 | Apollo 13 Splashdown | 28.60[4] | 17 April 1970 | BBC/ITV |
| 6 | 1970 FA Cup final replay: Chelsea v Leeds United | 28.49[4] | 29 April 1970 | BBC/ITV |
| 7 | Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer | 28.40[5] | 29 July 1981 | BBC One/ITV |
| 8 | Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips | 27.60[4] | 14 November 1973 | BBC |
| 9 | Prime minister Boris Johnson's statement announcing a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic | 27.10[6] | 23 March 2020 | BBC/ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5/Sky News/S4C |
| 10 | State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II | 26.20[7][8] | 19 September 2022 | BBC/ITV/S4C/Sky News/Talk TV/GB News |
Notes:
- At least two Muhammad Ali boxing matches were reported to have been watched by at least 26 million viewers in the United Kingdom: the Fight of the Century (Ali vs. Frazier) was reported to have been watched by 27.5 million British viewers in 1971,[9] and The Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. Foreman) was reported to have been watched by 26 million viewers on BBC in 1974.[10]
- The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total average audience of 26 million viewers. This is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony.[11] The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC, with an extra 4.02 million watching on ITV.[11][12]
- Boris Johnson's address on 23 March 2020 was simulcast to 14.61 million viewers on BBC, 5.80 million on ITV, and more than 6 million on other channels.[13][6]
- The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (19 September 2022) was watched by an average audience of 18.5 million viewers on BBC channels.[8][clarification needed]
Most watched programmes
The following is a list of most watched programmes, excluding sporting events and news coverage. The mid-1980s introduction of in-week repeat showings accounts for six of the top ten programmes. On this measure, the 1996 Christmas edition of Only Fools and Horses is, not including figures for repeats, the most-watched non-documentary programme of all time so far in the United Kingdom. It is the third most-watched single-showing programme of all time so far on a single channel, behind the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 (see below).
- Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
- Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute
Key
- † Numbers with this background and symbol are italicised to denote aggregated figure with repeat showing.
| Rank | Programme | Synopsis | Viewers (millions) |
Date | Network | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EastEnders | Den Watts serves his wife Angie with divorce papers. | 30.15 † | 25 December 1986 | BBC1 | [14] |
| 2 | EastEnders | The aftermath of Den Watts serving his wife Angie with divorce papers. | 28.00 † | 1 January 1987 | BBC1 | [15] |
| 3 | Coronation Street | Hilda Ogden leaves Weatherfield. | 26.65 † | 25 December 1987 | ITV (Granada) | [15] |
| 4 | Live Aid | 16-hour concert in Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium for Band Aid. | 24.50 | 13 July 1985 | BBC1 | [16] |
| 5 | Only Fools and Horses | "Time on Our Hands" | 24.35 | 29 December 1996 | BBC1 | [17] |
| 6 | EastEnders | Arthur and Pauline Fowler urge their son Mark to tell his sister Michelle that he has HIV. | 24.30 † | 2 January 1992 | BBC1 | [2] |
| 7 | Royal Variety Performance 1965 | Featuring Dame Shirley Bassey, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and more. | 24.20 | 14 November 1965 | ITV (ATV) | [1] |
| 8 | EastEnders | Angie Watts suffers a renal shutdown. | 24.15 † | 7 January 1988 | BBC1 | [18] |
| 9 | To the Manor Born | Finale of the first series. | 23.95 | 11 November 1979 | BBC1 | [4] |
| 10 | Miss World 1967 | Madeline Hartog-Bel (Miss Peru) wins. | 23.76 | 19 November 1967 | BBC1 | [1] |
| 11 | EastEnders | The aftermath of Den Watts serving his wife Angie with divorce papers. | 23.55 † | 26 December 1986 | BBC1 | [19] |
| 12 | EastEnders | It is revealed that Lisa Shaw shot Phil Mitchell. | 23.18 † | 5 April 2001 | BBC1 | [20] |
| 13 | Panorama | Diana, Princess of Wales interview | 22.78 | 20 November 1995 | BBC1 | [21] |
| 14 | Royal Variety Performance 1975 | Performers include Bruce Forsyth, Dad's Army and Vera Lynn. | 22.66 | 16 November 1975 | ITV (ATV) | [4] |
| 15 | This Is Your Life | Lord Mountbatten | 22.22 | 27 April 1977 | ITV (Thames) | [4] |
| 16 | Sunday Night at the London Palladium | Presented by Jimmy Tarbuck. | 21.89 | 3 December 1967 | ITV (ATV) | [1] |
| 17 | The Benny Hill Show | "Cinema: The Vintage Years" | 21.67 | 24 March 1971 | ITV (Thames) | [4] |
| 18 | Dallas | "Who Done It" – Kristin Shepard is revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing. | 21.60 | 22 November 1980 | BBC1 | [5] |
| Coronation Street | Ken and Deirdre Barlow finalise their divorce. | 21.60 | 8 January 1992 | ITV (Granada) | [2] | |
| 19 | Eurovision Song Contest 1973 | Staged in Luxembourg – won by Anne-Marie David. | 21.56 | 7 April 1973 | BBC1 | [4] |
| 20 | Steptoe and Son | "The Lodger" – Albert looks for a lodger. | 21.54 | 18 February 1964 | BBC1 | [1] |
Most watched films
These are the most watched films by total number of viewers[22] (dates are when the films were broadcast, not necessarily when they were produced).
| Rank | Title | Viewers (millions) |
Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live and Let Die | 23.50 | 20 January 1980 | ITV |
| 2 | Jaws | 23.25 | 8 October 1981 | ITV |
| 3 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 22.90 | 28 March 1982 | ITV |
| 4 | Diamonds Are Forever | 22.15 | 15 March 1981 | ITV |
| 5 | Crocodile Dundee | 21.75 | 25 December 1989 | BBC1 |
Most watched broadcasts by year
This table details the most watched programmes on a single channel based on average viewing figures.
| Year | Programme | Date | Viewers (millions)[a] |
Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | News - Assassination of John F. Kennedy | 22 November 1963 | 24.15[b] | |
| 1964 | Steptoe and Son | 18 February 1964 | 21.54[1] | BBC |
| 1965 | Royal Variety Performance 1965 | 14 November 1965 | 24.20[1] | ITV (ATV) |
| 1966 | 1966 FIFA World Cup final: England v West Germany | 30 July 1966 | 32.30[c] | |
| 1967 | Miss World 1967 | 19 November 1967 | 23.76[1] | BBC |
| 1968 | Apollo 8 Splashdown | 27 December 1968 | 22.55[d] | |
| 1969 | Royal Family (documentary) | 21 June 1969 and 28 June 1969 | 30.69[e] | |
| 1970 | Apollo 13 Splashdown | 17 April 1970 | 28.60[f] | |
| 1971 | Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier: Fight of the Century | 8 March 1971 | 21.12[4] | BBC[g] |
| 1972 | Eurovision Song Contest 1972 | 25 March 1972 | N/A[h] | BBC |
| 1973 | Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips | 14 November 1973 | 27.60[4] | BBC |
| 1974 | Love Thy Neighbour | 7 April 1974 | 21.01[4] | ITV (Thames) |
| 1975 | Royal Variety Performance 1975 | 16 November 1975 | 22.66[4] | ITV (ATV) |
| 1976 | The Sweeney | 8 November 1976 | 20.68[4] | ITV |
| 1977 | This Is Your Life | 27 April 1977 | 22.22[4] | ITV (Thames) |
| 1978 | Sale of the Century | 24 December 1978 | 21.15[4] | ITV |
| 1979 | To the Manor Born | 11 November 1979 | 23.95[4] | BBC |
| 1980 | Film: Live and Let Die | 20 January 1980 | 23.50[5] | ITV |
| 1981 | Film: Jaws | 8 October 1981 | 23.30[25] | ITV |
| 1982 | Film: The Spy Who Loved Me | 28 March 1982 | 22.90[26] | ITV |
| 1983 | Coronation Street | 23 February 1983 | 18.45[27] | ITV |
| 1984 | Royal Variety Performance 1984 | 25 November 1984 | 20.55[28] | BBC |
| 1985 | Live Aid | 13 July 1985 | 24.50[16] | BBC |
| 1986 | EastEnders | 25 December 1986 | 30.15[14] | BBC |
| 1987 | EastEnders | 1 January 1987 | 28.00[15] | BBC |
| 1988 | EastEnders | 7 January 1988 | 24.15[18] | BBC |
| 1989 | Film: Crocodile Dundee | 25 December 1989 | 21.77[29] | BBC |
| 1990 | Neighbours | 26 February 1990 | 21.16[30] | BBC |
| 1991 | Coronation Street | 25 November 1991 | 20.45[31] | ITV |
| 1992 | Coronation Street | 22 January 1992 | 20.45[32] | ITV |
| 1993 | Coronation Street | 22 March 1993 | 20.73[33] | ITV |
| 1994 | Torvill and Dean – Olympic Ice Dance Championship | 21 February 1994 | 23.95[34] | BBC |
| 1995 | Panorama Special: An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales | 20 November 1995 | 22.78[21] | BBC |
| 1996 | Only Fools and Horses | 29 December 1996 | 24.35[17] | BBC |
| 1997 | Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales | 6 September 1997 | 19.29[35] | BBC |
| 1998 | 1998 FIFA World Cup: England v Argentina | 30 June 1998 | 23.78[36] | ITV |
| 1999 | Coronation Street | 7 March 1999 | 19.82[37] | ITV |
| 2000 | Coronation Street | 3 January 2000 | 18.96[38] | ITV |
| 2001 | Only Fools and Horses | 25 December 2001 | 21.34[39] | BBC |
| 2002 | Only Fools and Horses | 25 December 2002 | 17.40[40] | BBC |
| 2003 | Coronation Street | 24 February 2003 | 19.43[41] | ITV |
| 2004 | UEFA Euro 2004: England v Portugal | 24 June 2004 | 20.66[42] | BBC |
| 2005 | Coronation Street | 21 February 2005 | 14.36[43] | ITV |
| 2006 | 2006 FIFA World Cup: England v Sweden | 20 June 2006 | 18.46[44] | ITV |
| 2007 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts_in_the_United_Kingdom||||