Matildas’ shootout win delivers one of the biggest TV audiences in 20 years
By Calum Jaspan
The Matildas have delivered another record-breaking night on and off the field, with Saturday night’s penalty-shootout win over France becoming one of the most-viewed TV sporting events in almost two decades.
The broadcast on Seven was viewed by a national ‘Total TV’ audience of 4.904 million Australians according to VOZ figures, ratings agency OzTAM’s new measurement system. Released on Sunday afternoon, the figure includes a metro audience of 3.044 million, a regional audience of 1.262 million and a streaming audience of 598,000.
OzTAM data does not consider out-of-home viewing at clubs, pubs, sporting venues, meaning the audience could be significantly greater than the number reported.
The game’s original slot aired to a five-city metro audience of 2.502 million Australians, rising to 3.044 million during the penalty shoot-out, which ran into Seven’s news slot.
The viewing figures eclipse all but one sports television broadcast of the past 20 years – including AFL and NRL grand finals, Ash Barty’s Australian Open win in 2022 (viewed by 4.1 million), Australia’s 2003 Rugby World Cup loss against England – with Lleyton Hewitt’s 2005 Australian Open final loss being watched by 5.56 million.
While data was not tracked at the time by OzTAM, Cathy Freeman’s 400-metre final at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 is reported to have attracted 8.8 million television viewers, making it the most-watched Australian sporting event.
Saturday night’s quarter-final, played in front of a packed Brisbane crowd, ended in a stalemate after 90 minutes and extra time, going on to break another record: the longest-ever penalty shootout in both women’s and men’s World Cup history with 20 attempts.
Melbourne handed Seven the biggest share of its audience nationally, 984,000 tuning in from Victoria’s capital, narrowly ahead of Sydney on 931,000, while 513,000 watched from Brisbane.
The fanfare around the Matildas reached new highs this week, the AFL and NRL agreeing to air Optus Sport live streams in stadiums before and after Saturday’s fixtures, with crowds in stadiums continuing to watch the coverage as the shootout ran into the first quarter of a Melbourne and Carlton clash at the MCG.
The figure eclipses Monday’s round-of-16 game against Denmark, which was viewed by a metro audience of 2.294 million, and was then the biggest television audience of 2023.
Millions of people watched the Matildas’ thrilling victory over France.Credit: Getty
Seven sub-licensed 15 games from Optus Sport, the tournament’s official broadcast partner.
A source with knowledge of the deal, who was not permitted to speak publicly, said the network picked the games up for less than $5 million, making it a steal for Seven.
Optus Sport, the official broadcaster of the tournament on Sunday morning said the World Cup has delivered the platform’s biggest-ever four-week period.
Clive Dickens, vice president of television, content and product development at Optus, said the result is a credit to the quality of athletes and football at the tournament.
“Three of the FIFA Women’s World Cup matches have jumped into the top five most-streamed games on Optus Sport, out of a total 6000 live matches in our history.
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correction
An earlier version of this story said the Matildas’ win was the largest television audience for a live sporting event since Cathy Freeman’s legendary win at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The story has been updated to reflect that Lleyton Hewitt’s 2005 Australian Open final loss had higher viewership than the Matildas game.