Despite the heartbreak of the Matildas’ loss to England, last night’s FIFA World Cup semi-final match was the most-watch television program since the current rating system was established in 2001.
The Australia v England game almost tripled previous sporting benchmarks to become not just the most watched sporting program, but the most watched program in every other category.
Reports from OzTam and Channel Seven show the game reached 11.15 million Australians nation-wide, with an average audience of 7.13 million on the broadcasting channel.
Seven’s managing director and head of sport Lewis Martin said they are all proud to have played a part in supporting the Matildas’ efforts throughout the tournament.
“Australia was captivated last night as the Matildas played their hearts out and did us all proud,” he said.
“Although their FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 journey ended last night, the Matildas have re-written the history books and captured the hearts and minds of the nation with a performance that is sure to inspire generations of Australians for many years to come.”
Previous benchmarks for Seven’s top rated sporting benchmarks included the 2003 men’s rugby World Cup final, which reached four million viewers. The Matildas more than tripled this figure.
Even Cathy Freeman’s gold medal win in the 2000 Olympics was no match for the Matildas’ semi-final appearance, which, prior to Seven’s current rating system established in 2001, reached eight million viewers.
Seven’s chief executive James Warburton said broadcasting the FIFA Women’s World Cup, dubbed the “deal of the century” for the organisation, has had a “halo effect” for business.
On Optus Sport, the match, which saw the Aussies go down to the English Lionesses 1-3, became the fourth-highest rating program to ever be streamed on the platform, sitting just behind the Matildas’ nail-biting quarter final against France last week.
But Clive Dickens, Optus Sport’s head of content, said the stats are “volume-driven”, and because the quarter final had an extra 36 minutes due to the 15-minute periods of extra time and the penalty shootout, it reached more people on a higher volume. Dickens said overall the semi-final against England had a larger reach.
The latest record that the Matildas have broken isn’t the only one to come from the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 75,784 people who attended Stadium Australia on Wednesday night broke the record for the most attended women’s football match in Australia. The Matildas’ opening match against Ireland and their Round 16 match against Denmark received the same sell-out crowd.
The Matildas have also been named as the first women’s team in Australia to reach more than 500,000 followers on Instagram. Their account grew by 200,000 followers in less than a week, and a staggering 50,000+ during the penalty shootout against France alone.
They become the sporting team with the second-highest number of followers in Australia, trailing closely behind the men’s Australian cricket team.
The Matildas’ World Cup performance didn’t end last night, however. They will contest for third place against Sweden on Saturday August 19 in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the final between Spain and England is set to take place Sunday August 20.