ITV’s coverage of FA Cup quarter-final draws 8.6m viewers

The FA cup quarter-finals which saw Manchester United defeat Liverpool drew 8.6 million viewers on ITV, the broadcaster’s biggest audience of the year yet.

The pubcaster delivered free to air coverage of the football match on Sunday March 17, with a peak of 8.6 million tuning in as the game went into extra-time.

ITV said the Manchester United v Liverpool game also drew the biggest audience for an FA Cup quarter-final  since 2018.

The FA cup game on ITV comes as following over a week of major sports coverage on the broadcaster. England’s win against Ireland during ITV’s coverage of the Six Nations rugby tournament attracted 6.6 million viewers.

Meanwhile, the Cheltenham Festival, which concluded last week pulled over 1 million viewers. ITV said it was the best overall audience for the full day’s show on the broadcaster since 2021 and the biggest average audience for the the horse racing competition since 2021 when the country was in lockdown.

ITV reported earlier this month total revenue for 2023 was down 2% and total external revenue was down 3% to £3,62 billion. Whilst, the broadcaster’s streaming service ITVX saw monthly active users grow by 19%, and total streaming hours increased by 26%.