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More than 10 million tune in for England v Serbia Euro 2024 opener

The audience peaked at 15 million, the BBC said.

Laura Harding
Monday 17 June 2024 12:44 BST
Jude Bellingham scored a header 13 minutes into England’s Group C opening game (Martin Rickett/PA)
Jude Bellingham scored a header 13 minutes into England’s Group C opening game (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

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More than 10 million people tuned in to watch England’s winning start to Euro 2024 against Serbia.

The BBC’s coverage of the clash was watched by an average audience of 10.5 million, peaking at 15 million, the corporation said.

The match was also streamed 3.5 million times on BBC iPlayer.

England got off to a positive start in Germany when Jude Bellingham, who was recently unveiled as the new face of Kim Kardashian’s underwear brand Skims, scored a header 13 minutes into their Group C opener.

It was a rockier start for Scotland, who were defeated 5-1 by Germany.

Meanwhile, Spain defeated Croatia 3-0 and Denmark’s Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the pitch during the Euro 2020 game against Finland having suffered a cardiac arrest, scored his country’s only goal to draw 1-1 with Slovenia.

Scotland will get a chance for redemption against Switzerland on Wednesday, while England will meet Denmark on Thursday.

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “The nations came together in huge numbers to follow BBC Sport’s coverage of the first weekend of the men’s Euros.

“Whether it was the tension of England’s opening win, the fallout of Scotland’s tough start, the exciting performances from Germany and Spain or the heartwarming story of seeing Christian Eriksen score three years on from his collapse on the pitch, it’s great that we can showcase the best sporting storytelling across BBC TV, iPlayer, radio and online.”

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