Women's World Cup: Record total audience of 28.1m watch BBC coverage
- Published
The USA beat the Netherlands in Sunday's final in Lyon to claim a record-extending fourth World Cup
A record-breaking 28.1m people watched BBC coverage of the Women's World Cup on television and online.
That is 47% of the UK population, with England's semi-final loss to the USA attracting the highest live TV audience of 2019 so far with 11.7m.
Sunday's final saw the USA beat the Netherlands to win back-to-back titles.
"This World Cup was the most memorable to date and it has engaged sport fans across the UK," said director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater.
The BBC reach of 28.1m - a figure arrived at based on individuals watching coverage for 15 minutes or more - was more than double that for the last World Cup in Canada (12.4m).
There was a gender split of 62% male, 38% female, with a total of 13.1m match requests (live and on-demand) on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport.
That included 1.7m live requests for England's semi-final defeat, making it the most-streamed women's game on BBC's platforms. That game also had a peak TV audience share of 50.8%.
The final attracted a peak BBC One audience of 4.7m and peak share of 38.5%.
"The BBC is committed to growing the women's game and our free-to-air coverage has ensured the tournament reached the widest possible audience," Slater added.
"This was the first major event to kick off our Change The Game season and it's record-breaking viewing figures didn't disappoint."
BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.