Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. This is a weekend round-up of the stories I've covered over the last few days.

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Just one week ago, the Lionesses brought football home. Again. Leah Williamson became the first England senior captain to both lift two trophies and to lift one on foreign soil. I went to the parade on Monday and it was quite outstanding to see the reaction there. The media needs to be a real part of keeping that momentum going. Thanks to Tickaroo for sponsoring my coverage of a fantastic tournament. ​

Last night, I attended the launch of a new partnership between the Frontline Club (of which I am a member,) and Libraro, an app trying to use technology to democratise publishing. I had some questions about the product, and will write about it more in the future, but it's certainly a project to keep an eye on.

If you're not a Premium subscriber, you missed out on stories about the BBC's new AI boss, Erik Wemple leaving WaPo and DAZN's deal with the NHL.

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Everybody Watches Women’s Sport

I have, unsurprisingly, just returned from The Mall in central London. The Lionesses were there celebrating winning their second Euros title. Alongside me were 65,000 others enjoying the parade.

Today's festivities followed a record-breaking competition. A peak of 16.2 million watched Sunday’s final across the BBC and ITV. The BBC had a peak of 12.2 million viewers across its platforms. ITV’s coverage reached a peak of 4.2 million, attracting an average of 2.3 million viewers across all devices. The broadcaster also said that it picked up 25% of those watching the final on TV. That is a 5% increase from the 2023 World Cup final, which the Lionesses lost to Spain.

Annie Mac BDS Call Raises Questions for BBC

Annie Mac was my idol growing up. Her BBC Radio 1 show on a Friday evening signalled the start of the weekend. I wanted to be a DJ and radio presenter like her. (There’s still time, right… right?) Macmanus no longer presents on BBC radio, but co-hosts the BBC Sounds podcast Sidetracked, alongside Nick Grimshaw.

Since October 7, 2023 my love for Annie Mac has declined somewhat. She regularly churns out anti-Israel rhetoric on her widely followed social media channels. Today, we reached a new low. Macmanus posted a video to her 597,000 Instagram followers supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel - BDS. She told those followers to use an app “which aids you to shop ethically and has a specific section for priority BDS targets.”

ICYMI

• ​Wicked, Online Safety Act – What I’m Watching, Reading, Listening to, July 28​
• ​Test Cricket, Tour de France Femmes and More – What to Watch this Weekend, 2 and 3 August​