The FIFA World Cup continued its ratings takeover on Wednesday night, with SBS’ live semi-final clash between France and Spain dominating the evening and becoming the most-watched program of the night.
The match, on SBS, reached 2.368 million Australians, with a Total TV National Average Audience of 1.262 million and a huge 812,000 BVOD audience as viewers tuned in for the first semi-final of the tournament.
Spain defeated France 2-0. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a penalty kick after a Lucas Digne foul on Lamine Yamal in the first half, and Spain secured the victory with a second goal to reach the World Cup final.
The post-match coverage also performed strongly, ranking fifth overall with a national reach of 1.535 million and an average audience of 656,000, including 361,000 BVOD viewers.
Outside of the football, Seven and Nine continued to battle it out in the nightly news race, with Seven News reaching 2.192 million Australians and averaging 1.452 million, while 9News reached 1.958 million with an average audience of 1.215 million.
Nine’s Tipping Point: Travel Guides was the top non-news entertainment performer, attracting a national reach of 1.595 million and an average audience of 703,000. The episode saw the Travel Guides cast put their holiday expertise to the test before Tipping Point Australia followed with another strong result, reaching 1.506 million and averaging 844,000.
Over on Seven, The 1% Club UK continued to find its audience, reaching 1.415 million Australians and averaging 819,000, while The Chase Australia followed with a national reach of 1.386 million and an average audience of 702,000.
Ten’s MasterChef Australia remained the network’s strongest entertainment offering, reaching 985,000 viewers and averaging 617,000 as contestants continued through the competition.
Meanwhile, ABC’s Gruen returned with an encore episode, reaching 946,000 Australians and averaging 575,000, while 7.30 pulled in a national reach of 1.208 million and an average audience of 722,000.
