Football: Matildas World Cup semi-final smashes Australia TV records
The Matildas' crushing Women's World Cup semi-final loss to England was the most watched television show in Australia on record, data showed Thursday, as their exploits captivated the nation.
A staggering 11.5 million people tuned in at some point to Wednesday's match in Sydney, that the Lionesses won 3-1, out of a population of some 25 million.
The average audience was 7.13 million.
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The country's free-to-air host broadcaster Channel Seven said it was the most-watched programme, sport or otherwise, since the current rating system was established in 2001.
«The Matildas have rewritten the history books,» said Seven's head of network sport Lewis Martin.
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«Australia was captivated last night as the Matildas played their hearts out and did us all proud.»
The data does not include those who watched on pay-TV broadcaster Optus Sport.
Despite their defeat, Australia still have one match left with a third-place play-off against Sweden in Brisbane on Saturday.
England face Spain in the final in Sydney on Sunday.
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