Matildas’ win over Denmark most-watched TV moment of the year
Two heart-stopping goals from Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso propelled the Matildas to a convincing win over Denmark in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday, but the Aussies defeated another rival on the night: themselves.
The team broke its own TV ratings record, with an average of 3.63 million people tuning into Channel Seven and its online video platform 7plus. It was the highest-rating show of the year, according to ratings agency OzTAM.
The game beat the previous audience record for 2023 of 3.3 million for the first game of State of Origin on Nine in late May. Nine is the owner of The Australian Financial Review.
Fans watch the Matildas against Denmark at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Monday’s Matildas’ game, which featured a late appearance from captain Sam Kerr, also out-rated both the NRL and AFL grand finals from last year.
The game had a total reach, which includes anyone who watched on television for a minute or for 15 seconds online, of 6.54 million people, Seven said. More than 10 per cent of the game’s audience tuned in via 7plus – 385,000 people.
These are in addition to the 75,784 people who packed Stadium Australia in Sydney to watch the game live, and add to any viewers who watched on Optus Sport, which requires a subscription. Optus does not publicly disclose its ratings data.
The Matildas sailed past Denmark 2-0.
The mammoth audience marks a rapid climb in the Matildas’ success in drawing a broadcast audience over the course of the World Cup.
Their win over Ireland on July 20 had an average audience of 1.93 million on Seven and 7plus, which was the biggest women’s team sport audience at the time.
That record lasted just days, when the Matildas defeated Canada 4-0 last week to become the first
Read more on afr.com
