England’s quarter-final victory on Saturday night set the tone for the tournament’s biggest weekend yet, according to Ozone digital audience data
Digital news brands drew 3.4 million football readers that day, up 42% on Friday, with page views rising 32% to 9.9 million. That happened even before the match, which went to extra time, had finished.
The hour-by-hour picture shows how the audience grew as kick-off approached and held through the match itself. From 2pm to 6pm, as previews and team news landed, the average hourly audience ran 32% above the rest of the day. That climbed to 71% higher between 7pm and midnight, with 10pm — kick-off itself — peaking at 110% higher than the rest of the day.
Much of the reaction to England’s win carried into Sunday — and it broke the record again. Users climbed to 4.1 million, up 19% on Saturday, while page views reached 14.2 million, a huge 43% increase on the day before.
Readers naturally gravitated toward match reports and analysis of the win, along with coverage of Jude Bellingham’s role under Thomas Tuchel heading into the semi-final against Argentina. Live updates from the match drew strong numbers as it unfolded, while a clip of Erling Haaland’s dad’s X-rated reaction on live TV also ranked among the weekend’s most-read stories.
Sightings of David Beckham watching from Miami with his family, and of Noel Gallagher alongside Penélope Cruz at Belgium vs Spain, both pulled in significant traffic, prove that celebrity fan culture is just as much a part of this tournament’s appeal.
Amid the celebration, readers also turned to news brands for coverage of a sadder story. Tributes to South African player Jayden Adams, who died aged 25, drew heavy readership over the weekend — a reminder of the range of stories audiences trust news brands to cover.
Across the week as a whole, the tournament recorded its highest readership yet: 12.8 million users, up 20% on the previous week, and 77 million page views, up 28% over the same period.
With Argentina now standing between England and the final, the audience shows no sign of easing off.
Source: Ozone digital news brands
