England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final victory over Sweden drew a peak viewership of 9.3 million on BBC One. This makes it one of the year’s most-watched women’s football games on television broadcasts.
The statistics don’t involve the number of people who used the BBC‘s online streams or in public places like pubs or fanzones. The crowd was rewarded with a 4-0 triumph at Bramall Lane.
International women’s football is now a coherent rating winner, which might question the fans’ interest in other sports. Moreover, to contradict this, the BBC’s live telecast of the World Athletics Championships peaked at 1.3 million viewers on Saturday, while this month’s T20I match between India and England recorded a viewership of 980,000 despite being accessible for free on BBC Two.
Even for games that did not feature England or Northern Ireland, Euro 2022 has drawn millions of British viewers, indicating that there is a huge appetite in the UK for free-to-air live sport.
Viewership numbers show an increase in the interest of fans in sports. When England’s women’s team reached the final of the 2009 Women’s Euros, 1.4 million people tuned in to BBC One. The BBC expects a tenfold increase in attendance when the Lionesses play in this year’s final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
The record British television audience for a female football game was established during the 2019 World Cup when TV ratings peaked at 11.7 million when England lost to the United States in the semi-finals.
The task for women’s football is to maintain press attention after the tournament has concluded. Sky and the BBC are holding out hope to persuade more viewers to watch domestic English Women’s Super League coverage.
In May, BBC Two drew 500,000 viewers when it aired the Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur women’s derby.