Has your area gone football-mad? We've mapped World Cup viewing

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Has your area gone football-mad? We've mapped World Cup viewingImage source, and Getty ImagesByPhil Leake, Data journalist and Rachel Standish, Data analystPublished25 minutes ago​​Fans have cheered and despaired at the World Cup's most exciting - and nail-biting - moments in pubs, watch parties and sitting rooms across the country. But some places have embraced it more than others.

We've analysed iPlayer viewing figures to see where the tournament has been most popular. The figures cover all World Cup content on iPlayer - including live matches, highlights and analysis programmes - but do not include games shown exclusively on ITV. The map of postcode areas below shows the proportion of signed-in iPlayer users who watched World Cup content between 11 June and 7 July.

The Details

The darker the green, the higher the level of interest. London has been the tournament's viewing capital, with 13 of the top 14 postcode areas for iPlayer viewing located in and around the city. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK iPlayer accounts have streamed at least some of the World Cup, but this rises to almost 80% in the leading areas of Southall, Ilford and East London.

Outside London, Manchester is the highest-ranked postcode district, followed by Luton, Oldham and Birmingham. But matches involving England and Scotland have consistently divided audiences either side of the border. Scottish households have been less likely to switch on for England matches than households in Wales and Northern Ireland, despite both nations having failed to qualify for the tournament.

The pattern was mirrored in England. Neither of Scotland's two matches - against Haiti and Brazil - made the top five most-watched group-stage games among English postcodes. England's dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico kicked off at 02:00 BST on Monday morning and broke TV records for a live broadcast at that time.

What Experts Say

But unlike other games, people in London's eight inner postcode areas did not tune in live or catch up in the same numbers as the rest of the country. Blackburn, Oldham, Bolton, Birmingham, Bradford, Sunderland and Wolverhampton all entered the top 10 instead, while some London areas barely made the top 100. Aside from home nations' matches, kick-off times and star players have had a significant influence on audience size.

France's opener against Senegal, which benefitted from a primetime slot (20:00 BST) and featured Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, drew the second-biggest group stage audience across the UK, behind England-Ghana. Portugal's meeting with DR Congo and Argentina's clash with Austria were also among the most-watched, helped by their early start times (18:00 BST) and the superstar appeal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The least popular matches have generally involved smaller nations and been scheduled at midnight (00:00 BST) or later.

There are also clear signs of club loyalty in certain areas.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.