2018 World Cup in Russia: 40.9 million views on the BBC's online platforms during the group stage

The BBC recorded 40.9 million live and on-demand views for the matches of the 2018 World Cup group stage on its online platforms BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer, according to the British public broadcaster, on 29/06/2018.

England's first match in the competition versus Tunisia (2-1, 18/06/2018) saw a new online audience record, with 3 million live views. England's second match versus Panama (6-1, 24/06/2018) totaled 2.8 million views. The previous record dates from the England - Wales match (2-1, 16/06/2016) during Euro 2016 which drew 2.2 million views.

The BBC Sport site received a total of 31.2 million visits during the group stage, compared to 32 million for the entire 2014 World Cup. The "BBC Sport VR - FIFA World Cup Russia 2018" app was downloaded 325,000 times.

• The five most-watched group stage matches (48 games) online on BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer live and on-demand:
  • Tunisia - England (2-1), 3.22 million views, on 18/06/2018.
  • England - Panama (6-1), 3.13 million views, on 24/06/2018.
  • Portugal - Spain (3-3), 2.03 million views, on 15/06/2018.
  • Egypt - Uruguay (0-1), 2.03…