Wednesday night's Women's World Cup semi-final between Australia and England became the most-watched television program in Australia since current ratings began in 2001, according to OzTam and Channel Seven.
The match reached 11.15 million Australians nationally, with an average audience of 7.13 million. Channel Seven's head of network sport, Lewis Martin, said the Matildas had 'captured the Australian spirit like nothing we have seen in decades'.
‘The Matildas have rewritten the history books,’ Martin added, noting that the audience easily surpassed the 2003 men's Rugby World Cup final (around 4 million average) and Cathy Freeman's gold medal run in 2000 (over 8 million under a previous ratings system).
Streaming figures also set records: 957,000 watched on 7plus, and Optus Sport reported the match was its fourth-highest rating program ever, just behind the quarter-final against France. Optus boss Clive Dickens said interest in the semi-final was larger overall, despite shorter playing time (94 minutes vs 130 minutes including extra time in the France match).
Dickens predicted an 'enormous' audience for Saturday's third-place play-off in Brisbane, which Channel Seven and Optus Sport will broadcast free. He stressed the importance of maintaining momentum for women's football, urging fans to support the A-League Women and the English Women's Super League.
Meanwhile, FIFA launched the tender process for 2026 men's and 2027 women's World Cup broadcast rights. Seven West Media CEO James Warburton noted the Matildas' success had a 'halo effect' but acknowledged that football's format limits advertising returns compared to sports like AFL.
