FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 winners Spain Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Negotiations over television broadcast rights for the Women's World Cup that nearly led to the tournament being blacked out in key countries, gave way to record viewership in the end, as football powerhouses Spain and England clashed in a finale that capped a tournament of thrills.
Negotiations over television broadcast rights for the Women's World Cup that nearly led to the tournament being blacked out in key countries, gave way to record viewership in the end, as football powerhouses Spain and England clashed in a finale that capped a tournament of thrills.
French fans watch football on tv Photo: AFP
The final between England and Spain attracted a peak audience of 12 million viewers on BBC One, beating the men's Wimbledon final in July that peaked at 11.3 million.
In Spain, 8.8 million people tuned in to watch at least some of the match on TV, according to audience measurement firm Barlovento, as their team beat England's Lionesses 1-0 in Australia on Sunday.
Had tense pre-tournament negotiations between the sport's global governing body, FIFA, and broadcasters failed to come to fruition, the two countries that reached the final could have been among those blacked out during the biggest edition of the tournament.
The broadcast rights for the tournament were sold separately from the men's edition for the first time this year, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino had threatened a blackout of Europe's 'Big 5' nations - Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France - unless initial "unacceptable" bids were improved.
In June, FIFA extended its agreement with the European Broadcasting Union, ending the threat.
Co-hosts Australia made good use of the timing with an average audience of 7.13 million viewers - and a peak of 11.15 million - for Australia's semi-final against England. That was the highest rated television program in Australia recorded by research firm OzTAM since it began tracking in 2001.
Almost two million fans attended the tournament in Australia and New Zealand - up by more than 600,000 on the previous record.
The tournament, which Spain won for the first time, expanded to 64 games compared to 52 four years ago.
However, the average attendance was 30,911 - up from 21,756 at the 2019 World Cup in France.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino had set a target of 1.5m ticket sales for 2023.
-Reuters/BBC