A RECORD number of Aussies tuned in to watch our Lionesses demolish their Women’s World Cup dream on Wednesday.
England are through to a World Cup final for the first time since 1966 after a stunning 3-1 semi-final win over co-hosts Australia.
AlamyA record number of Aussie fans tuned in to watch them lose to England[/caption]
BBCFans of the Matildas were left heartbroken as their World Cup dream ended[/caption]
GettyEngland’s 3-1 victory set up a final showdown with Spain[/caption]
Ella Toone gave the Lionesses the lead in the first half with a superb strike that sailed into the top corner.
The Matildas came flying out the traps after the break with star striker Sam Kerr levelling thanks to a thumping 25-yard shot.
But England bounced back and regained the lead through Lauren Hemp.
And then hero Alessia Russo set up a final with Spain on Sunday with the third late on.
Now the staggering number of fans that tuned in Down Under has been revealed – and the total figure crushed the reported 8.8 million people that watched Cathy Freeman’s historic run at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
There were 11.5m people that watched the game on Network Seven.
And that was enough to make it the highest rating TV program on record since the OzTAM audience measurement system began in 2001.
There was an average audience of 7.13m viewers on Seven and 7plus, including a national broadcast audience of 6.17m viewers on Seven alone.
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The historic victory for England also saw a number of streaming records smashed.
Around 957,000 viewers tuned in on 7Plus with the match peaking at 6.9m viewers on broadcast.
And, in total, that meant a mega 89.8 per cent of the commercial audience share switched on to make it the number one broadcast program in the whole of Australia yesterday.
The numbers also mean that it was the most watched TV event in Australian history with 42 per cent of the entire nation watching on Channel 7 alone.
The number was actually much higher with the figures not taking in fan parks and those watching at pubs.
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ReutersCathy Freeman’s 400m gold medal run at the 2000 Sydney Olympics was the previously most watched event[/caption]
GettySam Kerr was consoled by England players after the defeat[/caption]
The Mega AgencySupporters packed into fan parks Down Under[/caption]