Argentina’s victory over France in the World Cup final was watched by a peak of 14.9 million people on BBC One.
ITV, which also broadcast the Qatar final, saw a peak of 4.4 million with a TV audience share of 17.8%.
BBC TV coverage reached a total reach of 38.8 million for the duration of the World Cup.
Additionally, the tournament was streamed a record 104.7 million times on BBC iPlayer and Sport Online.
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “One of the greatest World Cup finals of all time, victory for Argentina and Messi last night capped off four exciting weeks of football.
“A first-ever Winter World Cup was a new experience for fans and the BBC has once again demonstrated the value of sport when it is made available free to all, breaking new streaming records and delivering the highest quality coverage, analysis and entertainment across TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Online and BBC Sounds.”
The BBC Sport website had 52.8 million unique browsers during the World Cup, while World Cup programming was broadcast 10.4 million times on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and BBC Sport Online.
England win 3-0 against Wales in Group B was the most-watched game on BBC TV peaking at 17.6 million, while the Three Lions’ 6-2 win over Iran was the most-requested live game on BBC Sport Online and BBC iPlayer with 7.9 million requests.
The five-minute peak of 21.31m in England’s quarter-final loss to France – broadcast by ITV – was the most-watched single-channel TV moment from 2022 until now.
