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The latest data from broadband ISP BT (EE) has revealed that Wednesday’s night’s semi-final FIFA World Cup 2026 football match between England and Argentina triggered the “largest live streaming event ever seen” on the internet provider’s national network.
Streaming traffic is said to have exceeded BT’s previous record by nearly 30%, driven in part by customers tuning in via the BBC’s exclusive 4K iPlayer viewing experience. The record came during a tournament in which England’s matches generated significant increases in traffic through both BBC iPlayer and ITVX, although outside of streaming they didn’t have a dramatic impact.
BT compared the peak streaming traffic during each match with the peak recorded during the equivalent time window in an average week. The analysis found increases ranging from 160% to 683%, with Mexico v England producing the largest proportional uplift.
