Over nine million people stayed up to the early hours of Monday morning to watch England's dramatic victory over Mexico in the World Cup.
The BBC reported a peak audience of 9.1 million and an average of 7.8 million across television and iPlayer, despite the match kicking off at 2am after a one-hour delay due to torrential rain and scattered storms in Mexico City.
Record-breaking early morning audience
This is the biggest television audience ever for a live UK broadcast between 2am and 4am. The match, which England won 3-2, saw Thomas Tuchel's men reach the quarter-finals.
There was also a huge catch-up audience. A peak of 1.1 million and an average of 900,000 watched the full match re-run on BBC Two from 7.10am, while 5.9 million watched highlights via iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, app, and YouTube channel.
Surge in iPlayer views
The BBC reported a 1,400% surge in iPlayer views for the contest, with many viewers experiencing technical issues amid the huge increase in demand.
England's win over DR Congo in the previous round, which kicked off at 5pm on Wednesday July 1, remains the highest viewed game of the World Cup so far in the UK, with a peak audience of 16.3 million. During the group stage, England's audiences peaked at 15.4 million against Croatia and Ghana, and at 13.76 million against Panama.
Upcoming quarter-final
England will now take on Norway in the quarter-finals at 10pm on Saturday night on ITV.
The audience for the Mexico match remained comfortably below the UK's post-midnight record. A peak of 18.5 million viewers tuned in for the dramatic conclusion of the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, watching Dennis Taylor take on Steve Davis. That match, known as The Black Ball Final, saw Taylor prevail in a nail-biting final frame on the final black, with the dramatic match-winning pot taking place at 12.25am.
