Channel Seven’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup is closing in on 10 million viewers at the formal halfway point, as Football Australia hailed the tournament as the most successful in history.
In Australia, 9.4 million people have watched Seven’s coverage so far across all games – not just the Matildas – with 1.3 million watching on streaming platform 7Plus.
The interest level has been matched in stadiums, with more than 1.7 million tickets sold. Fifa had originally targeted tournament sales of 1.3 million, and this was later revised to 1.5 million.
In Australia, an average of over 30,000 fans have attended each match. Initially slow ticket sales in New Zealand, which is co-hosting the tournament, prompted a decision to give away free tickets there.
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said his organisation had always believed in the Matildas and women’s football.
“Their unwavering spirit and resilience resonate with our nation’s values and their success on the pitch has made them a symbol of national pride,” he said. “To see Australia united behind this team has been inspiring.
“This Women’s World Cup has been a milestone for Football Australia and for women’s football in our country. We are overwhelmed with the profound impact of the tournament so far.”
Australia play Denmark in the last 16 on Monday at Stadium Australia, in a match that is expected to draw another 75,000 fans and millions more watching on TV.
Optus Sport, the digital service which has rights to every game live, has declined to release ratings figures, but reported the tournament’s first week as the streaming platform’s largest week ever.
The technical issues that blighted the Optus service during the men’s World Cup in 2018 have not resurfaced.
The Matildas’ victory over Canada on Monday night was the most watched program on the Seven network in 2023, with a national broadcast reach of over 5.3 million Australians on broadcast and video-on-demand.
Seven reported on Monday its broadcasts had reached 8 million, and updated the figure to almost 8.6 million following the England versus China broadcast on Tuesday.
VOZ, the ratings aggregator, reported that match attracted 379,000 viewers, including 36,000 on video-on-demand, making it the 23rd highest-rating program of the night. Channel 10’s The Project attracted just 15,000 more viewers. The top rating show was Seven News with more than 1.5 million viewers.
Seven’s Head of Network Sport and managing director of Seven Melbourne, Lewis Martin, said: “We are thrilled by the massive audience watching the Fifa Women’s World Cup across all the screens of Seven, while the huge numbers come as no surprise, given the magnitude of this exceptional event.”
Johnson said fans should expect the tournament to continue to gain momentum.
“Today, football is at the centre of every city and town across the country, attendance records have been set in Australia with an average of over 30,000 for each match, and new broadcast records being set,” he said.
“Australia can prepare for an unprecedented football spectacle.”
