The Matildas’ victory the most-watched TV broadcast in 2023

The Matildas’ win over Denmark was the most-watched broadcast of this year, beating out even the NRL grand final, to become a ratings bonanza for Optus Sport and Channel 7.

The Matildas’ victory on Monday night is the most-watched broadcast in Australia this year drawing 3.633 million viewers and has been a ratings gold mine for broadcaster Channel 7.

The team’s two-nil victory over Denmark on Monday night drew a national audience of 3.248 million viewers, official figures from ratings firm OzTAM showed, including 2.291 million viewers in the five major cities and 957,000 in the regional cities.

In addition to this, streaming figures showed another 385,000 viewers watched the match live on Seven’s online platform 7plus, a record for the service.

The Matildas’ TV audience on Monday also trounced the 2022 NRL grand final between Penrith and Parramatta which aired on Channel 9 and drew an average audience of 2.695 million viewers.

In addition to this it outrated all three State of Origin matches which attracted 3.293 million, 3.044 million and 2.505 million viewers respectively.

Ash Barty’s historic Australian Open victory in 2022 which aired on Nine drew 3.851 million viewers nationally, official OzTAM data showed, and it drew another 245,000 viewers on Nine’s streaming channel 9Now.

The victory at the sold-out event at Stadium Australia in Sydney included the much-hyped return of captain Sam Kerr and the viewership exceeded the team’s previous matches in the FIFA World Cup and booked the Matildas a spot in the quarterfinals.

The previous matches included the Matildas’ 4-0 win over Canada last week which drew an average audience of 2.42 million viewers, its shock 3-2 loss to Nigeria on July 27 (1.49 million viewers) and its opening match against Ireland which they won 1-0 and drew 1.93 million viewers.

Fans Anna Nguyen, Ash Fraraccio and Elissa Coatat at Federation Square in Melbourne before the quarterfinal match. Picture: Ian Currie

Optus Sport provides World Cup tournament access to subscribers who can view all 64 games of the series live however it has an agreement with free-to-air broadcaster Seven that allows 15 matches to be shared including all the matches the Matildas participate in.

Optus Sport has not revealed its viewing numbers for Monday night’s victory but industry experts say it could be anywhere between another 100,000 to 200,000 viewers.

The Matildas will now play the winner of France and Morocco on Saturday in Brisbane. Picture: Steven Markham/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

An Optus spokeswoman said the huge viewership for the World Cup series has been overwhelming.

“We are pleased to play an integral part in delivering the best possible football broadcasting and content experience to Australians,” she said.

“We anticipated that our sporting nation would rally around the tournament, but the level of engagement to date has exceeded expectations with key matches sitting among our most viewed games in Optus Sport history.”

The commercial arrangements between Optus Sport and Seven have not been made public but as the Matildas edge closer to World Cup glory, the success for the broadcasters has been immense and Monday night’s match exceeded the viewership for the 2022 AFL grand final which drew 3.137 million viewers.

The Matildas will play the winner of France and Morocco on Saturday in Brisbane.

Global Media & Sports director Colin Smith said the latest ratings figures show Australians are embracing women’s sport and it has proved to be a roaring success for Optus and Seven.

“It shows you Australians embrace the best of the best in the world for women’s sport and the balance of having matches behind the paywall and free-to-air works really well,” he said.

“Channel 7 will be loving these viewing numbers and any free-to-air broadcaster would be wanting these numbers, however it doesn’t mean it will necessarily flow onto the women’s domestic sporting leagues.”