Channel Seven make huge decision about Matildas’ World Cup match against France in a
Channel Seven make huge decision about Matildas’ World Cup match against France in a first for women’s sport in Australia
- Seven have made big change to programming
- Move is a first for women’s football in Australia
- Matildas kick off against France on Saturday at 5pm AEST
As the Matildas ready themselves to face France in the quarter finals of the Women’s World Cup, Channel Seven has made the huge decision to push back the 6pm nightly news bulletin in order to show the action uninterrupted.
Australia is well and truly on the Matildas bandwagon after TV ratings confirmed the football team are a smash hit across the nation.
More than 3.5million people watched the Aussie team’s 2-0 win over Denmark on Monday night on Channel Seven – with 3.18m watching on TV and 385,000 on the streaming service 7Plus.
It was the highest audience for any TV show this year, out-rating the AFL, NRL and big reality TV shows.
All eyes will be on Tony Gustavsson’s side when they take on France at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday with a potential semi-final berth on home soil on the line.
Channel 7 has made the extraordinary decision to push back the 6pm nightly news bulletin to broadcast the Matildas vs France match
TV ratings for Matildas matches during the World Cup have been enormous
In a first for women’s football in Australia, Channel 7 have made the decision to delay the news broadcast to at least 7pm on its primary channel to broadcast the full match, which kicks off at 5pm.
Seven has also increased its pre-match coverage for the momentous occasion from 30 minutes to an hour.
Pushing back the 6pm news for a sporting event is something that happens very rarely, but is not unprecedented.
It occurred when Steve Waugh notched his iconic last-ball ton at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2003, and also when Michael Clarke spun the Aussies to stunning victory over India in 2008.
However, it is the first time the switch has been made to accommodate a women’s sporting event.
The decision has caused some disruption for the network, with the Saturday night AFL coverage moved to 7.30pm.
Channel 7 AFL commentator Georgie Parker took to social media to express her surprise at the decision.
‘Before the World Cup I wondered whether Seven would put the Matilda’s on the main channel over the AFL,’ she posted.
‘Well Seven have just said they’re putting the Matilda’s on the main channel, pushing back THE NEWS. Unprecedented.
The 6pm news bulletin is rarely moved – and never before for a women’s football match
The historic match on Seven will kick off at 5pm on Saturday night
‘The news is the anchor of every network. Huge.’
Seven’s coverage of the tournament has now reached a whopping 9.25 million on TV and 1.67 million on 7Plus.
The Aussie side’s next game on Saturday evening may well topple Ash Barty’s monster ratings when she won the Australian Open women’s singles title in 2022.