Game was most watched show of 2019 so far...
The England Lionesses may have gone out of the World Cup, but they did score a record audience as an incredible 11.7 million people watched the game, making it the biggest viewing figure of 2019 so far!
England had hoped to reach their first ever Women’s World Cup final, but a combination of bad luck and a crucial penalty miss by Steph Houghton saw them defeated 2-1 by the United States.
However, in a small consolation, they will know that the nation was truly behind them as nearly 12 million fans cheered them on during the coverage on BBC1.
Beeb bosses will no doubt feel the huge viewing figure vindicates their decision to clear the evening schedule, cancelling Holby City for the week in the process, to screen the match.
To put the audience figure in context, the final episode of Line of Duty, the biggest drama of 2019 so far, only got 9.1 million viewers.
However, the Women’s World Cup semi-final clash didn’t attract as many viewers as England’s defeat to Croatia at the same stage of the men’s tournament last year, which pulled in 20.7 million on ITV.
And the 11.7 million figure for the England game last night was also behind BBC1 thriller Bodyguard, which scored 14.3 million in 2018.
So, can the Lionesses stay at number one for 2019? And imagine what the audience figure would have been if they’d made the final!
Main picture: FIFA via Getty Images
