Matildas smash TV viewer records for the first time in a decade
On Saturday night, many households around the nation joined together and held their breath as The Matildas took on France in an epic showdown for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The game had an audience of millions around the country, as people watched the nail-biting event live and free on Channel 7 and 7plus to set all kinds of staggering TV records.
Australia has been swept up in the fever of the Women's World Cup, with each game boasting more and more fans, with millions of people, including the not-so sports inclined, showing up in a display of solidarity for women's sport.
Many accommodations were made for the match against France, the Channel 7 pushing their nightly news broadcast, and countless live streaming sites set up around the country for sports fans to gather together and watch the showdown in real time.
As a result, Seven has revealed that the game delivered “the highest rating TV sport program of the past decade”.
The last time the Matildas stepped out, for the 2-0 win over Denmark, their TV numbers eclipsed last year’s AFL and NRL grand finals, and all of this year’s State of Origin battles in rugby league and reality TV shows.
Now, Seven’s “preliminary data” shows that the epic battle with France was watched by a whopping 7.2 million people (on both Seven and 7plus) with an estimated average audience during the game of 4.17 million.
The game’s adjusted average audience of 4.17 million included a national broadcast audience of 3.69 million viewers on Seven (2.62 million in the capital cities) plus 472,000 viewers on 7plus.
“It is the No.1 TV program of the year,” Seven said in a statement.
“The 472,000 viewers on 7plus makes the Matildas v France game the biggest streaming event ever seen in Australia.”
Overall, Seven’s coverage of the World Cup has now reached 11.9 million broadcast viewers plus another 2.3 million on 7plus.
Seven’s Melbourne director and head of sport, Lewis Martin, said, “Australia partied yesterday as the Matildas did us proud. The nation gathered around the screens of Seven to cheer on our latest sporting heroes, in an amazing, shared experience that only Seven can deliver.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 has brought Australia together in a way we haven’t seen for years."
Australia beat France in the epic battle on Saturday, after The Matildas had the nation on the collective edge of their seats before dominating in a tense 7-6 penalty shootout.
The Matildas will now take on England in the semi-finals on Wednesday night, in a match that is sure to break TV viewing records all over again.
Image credits: Getty Images