The Lionesses' victory over Australia in the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup drew a massive audience, with more than 11 million people tuning in to watch the game on various platforms provided by the BBC in the UK.
The match, which ended in a 3-1 win for England, attracted an impressive peak audience of 7.3 million viewers on BBC One. Additionally, another 3.8 million fans chose to stream the game via BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport digital platforms.
Furthermore, highlights and clips from this exciting encounter have already garnered an astonishing 2.7 million requests on various digital channels offered by the BBC.
Meanwhile, Australian free-to-air network Seven also had extensive coverage of their team's semi-final defeat against England. The broadcast reached a staggering total of 11.15 million people across Australia.
On average, there were approximately 7.13 million viewers who watched Seven's coverage of the Matildas' loss against England - making it one of their most-watched broadcasts ever.
Despite being played midweek at what some may consider an unfavourable time slot, the semi-final between England and Australia made both UK history and tournament history. Indeed, the semi-final became the country’s highest-rated match across the BBC or ITV. In addition, Australia witnessed its most-watched TV broadcast event since the OzTam system launched back in 2001.
It is worth mentioning that these extraordinary figures do not even account for out-of-home viewing numbers, nor those who streamed this thrilling contest via subscription streaming service Optus Sport. These additional viewership sources would undoubtedly contribute to even higher overall numbers.
Overall, this remarkable turnout demonstrates both countries’ growing interest and passion for women's football. As the sport continues to grow in popularity, it is expected that viewership numbers for major women's events like the World Cup will continue to soar in the years to come.
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