12.9m watch Cup Final

Viewing figures of almost 13m were recorded for Saturday's FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium making it the most watched sporting event of 2007.

The 2007 Final of The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON, which was broadcast simultaneously on BBC1 and Sky Sports 1, recorded a combined peak audience of 12.9m people.

The FA’s Chief Executive Brian Barwick said: "There are few events that can capture and unite a nation quite like The FA Cup Final and the audience figures for Saturday proved that once again."

The peak, which included a BBC1 final whistle peak audience of 11.8m, made The Final the biggest sports viewing event of the year so far beating the Champions League semi-final second leg between Liverpool and Chelsea.

BBC’s coverage averaged 9.6m (56.5%) and was an increase on last year’s Final between Liverpool and West Ham which attracted an average of 9m. None of the figures include the significant out of home audience in pubs and clubs throughout the country.