An estimated peak audience of over 24 million people in the United Kingdom watched England lose to Argentina in the football World Cup semi-final. With an average audience of 22.1 million viewers, it was the most-watched live television live television audience for a British broadcaster since 2021, when England played Italy in the final of the Euros, viewed by over 18 million.

The BBC reported that there were more than 2.8 million UHD streams of the match through the BBC iPlayer.

The semi-final was also streamed 12.6 million times across the BBC iPlayer, web site and sport app. It should be noted that these figures are not a measure of audience.

Across social media, BBC Sport attracted 75 million video views on the day of the match, with 2.25 billion over the tournament at that date.

While England supporters will have been disappointed to be knocked out by Argentina, the third-place playoff against France proved to be a ten-goal bonanza, with England scoring six goals including a hat trick.

When England met France in the last World Cup in 2022 it was watched by 15.4 million. The same year The Queen’s Funeral Service was viewed by 26.5 million across various channels.

The largest audience of 2025 was 14.9 million for an episode of The Celebrity Traitors.

Despite the decline in traditional television viewing, in an age of almost unlimited choice, major sporting events like the World Cup remain rare moments of shared national experience that public service broadcasters can still deliver.

As viewing becomes ever more fragmented and personal, the ability to bring millions of people together at the same moment becomes a rarer and more valuable public service.

Twenty years ago, large television audiences were relatively commonplace. Today they are exceptional. The fact that they have become rare arguably makes them more valuable.

For the BBC, it could not come at a more significant time. It needs to justify why it should continue to receive universal funding in a market full of subscription streaming services. Those services are highly successful at serving individual tastes, but they are not designed to serve the whole nation simultaneously.

When England plays in a major tournament, or during a royal event, a state occasion or major news story, the ability of the BBC to reach a massive audience demonstrates a characteristic that is increasingly unusual. National moments are therefore not an exception to the mission of the BBC. They are one of its clearest expressions.

www.bbc.co.uk

The number of television licences in force in the United Kingdom fell by over half a million in the year to April 2026, to a total of 23.25 million, which only 22.03 million were paid for in full, with the remainder subject to concessions or funded by the BBC. Fewer than 80% of homes in the country now pay for a television licence. That is down from 90% in five years. Ten years ago it was over 95%, down from 97% in 2010.

More and more households are simply opting out. Now it is as many as one in five homes. As the percentage falls it is becoming more normal for people not to pay for the BBC.

3.7 million households now declare that they do not need a television licence.

Bizarrely, there are still over 3,000 monochrome television licences issued.

Due to an arrangement made several years ago, the BBC picks up the bill for over a million television licences for households with anyone aged over 75 who receive pension credit, worth a total of almost £180 million.

During its coverage of the football World Cup, the BBC has been promoting a QR code to buy a TV licence and persuading commentators to tell people to do so. It has been described as a sign of desperation. It also seems rather offensive to the majority that already have one.

BBC licence fee income was up slightly last year, by £36 million from £3.84 billion to £3.88 billion, largely through an inflation linked increase in the cost of a television licence to £174.50. The annual cost of collecting the television licence has risen from £166 million to £190 million.

Now the corporation is borrowing from an approach from 40 years ago. In 1986 it ran a campaign fronted by the comedian John Cleese asking: ‘What has the BBC ever given us?’

The BBC has rebooted this with a promotion fronted by presented Romesh Ranganathan.

Curiously, he is shown throughout with a television camera of 1986 vintage. Those of a certain age and interest might recognise it as a Link 130. It was from an era of analogue tube television cameras, before they were replaced by devices with chips.

These days you can get a better picture from your mobile phone.

Therein lies the challenge for the BBC. They are appealing with rhetoric from the 1980s to an audience that may have grown old with them, while subsequent generations no longer have the same relationship with television.

Kerris Bright is the Chief Customer Officer of the BBC. The job title is interesting in itself, given that television licence fee payers are not really customers as they are obliged by law to pay for it to receive any live television. They are deciding not to in increasing numbers.

“With this campaign then, we want to ensure the BBC gets credit for the fundamental impact it has on society, as well as the things it makes,” she writes.

She points out that in 1986 the BBC had two national television stations, whereas today it has eight. There were four national radio stations, but now there are ten.

Perhaps that is part of the problem the BBC faces in funding its expanding activities.

In the introduction to the BBC Annual Report, the recently appointed director general notes: “Reinventing the BBC to fulfil its mission for audiences in a complex, fast-moving world is our duty and our challenge. We need to rise to meet the moment by bringing together enduring public service values with creative and editorial excellence, innovation and courage. We need a BBC that is simpler, faster and more connected with audiences than ever.”

www.bbc.co.uk

Netflix delivered another quarter of double-digit revenue growth, but the market response suggested investors were looking for something more. Netflix is looking at more live events to drive viewer engagement. Meanwhile it is limiting its engagement reporting to an annual publication.

Second quarter revenue rose 13% year on year to $12.56 billion, with earnings per share slightly ahead of expectations. Yet the shares fell more than 7% following the results as investors focused less on the reported numbers than on the outlook for the rest of the year. Analysts pointed instead to guidance that was weaker than expected, reduced disclosure, and growing questions about engagement.

The company itself remained characteristically upbeat. Netflix said it continued to expect “healthy revenue and profit growth” and highlighted momentum across advertising, pricing and live programming. Management also reiterated its longer-term ambition to build “the world’s leading entertainment company”, while noting that “we’re still just getting started.”

Those comments, however, did little to reassure investors who believe Netflix is entering a more mature phase of growth.

The principal disappointment was the outlook for the third quarter. Netflix forecast revenue growth broadly consistent with the second quarter, but slightly below Wall Street expectations.

Chief Financial Officer Spence Neumann cautioned against reading too much into individual quarters, saying, “We don’t manage the business on a quarter-to-quarter basis. Our goal is to sustain healthy revenue and profit growth.” He argued that seasonal factors accounted for some of the apparent slowdown and maintained that the company remained on track for another strong year.

That explanation was not enough for investors. With subscriber growth no longer regularly reported, attention has shifted to revenue growth, advertising and engagement. Even a modest shortfall against expectations reinforced concerns that rapid expansion may be becoming harder to sustain.

Another announcement received almost as much attention as the financial results themselves. Netflix confirmed that its What We Watched engagement report will move from twice yearly publication to an annual report from 2027 onwards.

Coming after the decision to stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers, the move was widely interpreted as a further reduction in operational transparency.

Perhaps the most interesting discussion for television executives concerned live programming.

Netflix reported encouraging results from its coverage of the World Baseball Classic in Japan, which Sarandos described as “our most watched program ever in Japan” and “the biggest baseball streaming event ever.” While acknowledging that such events can generate higher initial churn because they attract large numbers of new subscribers, he said they also “drive conversation, drive net acquisition.” As a result, Netflix intends to “continue to build out that global live event calendar and expand it to include some regional live events as well.”

Asked by analysts about partnerships with broadcasters and other streaming services following the agreement with TF1 in France, co-chief executive Greg Peters said Netflix had always sought to expand the entertainment proposition available through its service. He described the TF1 arrangement as “just another approach to expanding that offering”, suggesting the company remains open to becoming a broader entertainment platform rather than simply a destination for Netflix originals.

The discussion also aligns with earlier reports that Netflix has been exploring linear-style channels and additional live experiences as ways of increasing engagement and advertising opportunities.

“Live, we expect, will be 5% of our content budget this year, but we think that’ll only be 1% of view hours,” he said.

While no formal announcement was made, the discussion reinforced the impression that Netflix increasingly sees value in scheduled and live programming alongside its traditional on-demand catalogue.

The broader significance of the quarter may therefore have less to do with the financial performance than with the changing character of the business. Netflix is talking less about subscriber numbers and more about advertising, profitability, engagement and monetisation.

The discussion also suggested a subtle shift in the Netflix view of television. Live events are no longer treated as occasional additions to an on-demand catalogue, but as strategically important programming in their own right. Together with the agreement to distribute TF1’s live television channels in France, it points towards a broader entertainment proposition in which scheduled viewing sits alongside on-demand streaming.

That shift in emphasis may ultimately prove more significant than the quarterly results themselves. Netflix increasingly wants investors to value it as a diversified global entertainment platform rather than simply a subscription streaming service. The market reaction suggests investors are not yet convinced that the new narrative can command the same premium valuation.

www.netflix.com