IRELAND’S WOMEN’S WORLD cup match against Canada yesterday set a new viewership record for a women’s team sporting event, according to RTÉ.
Vera Pauw’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat against the Canadians after taking a promising early lead through a goal from captain Katie McCabe.
Over 550,000 TV viewers tuned in for the game on RTÉ 2, making up 68.9% of the country’s audience share, the broadcaster said.
The national broadcaster also said that there had been 234,883 live streams on RTÉ Player.
“Ireland’s matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup vs Australia and Canada have provided the top two live events of the year-to-date on RTÉ Player,” an RTÉ statement read, adding that the figures demonstrated a growth in the popularity of women’s sport.
“The streaming numbers and TV ratings from Wednesday’s game demonstrate the continuing support for the women’s national team as live audiences for women’s sport hit an all-time high.”
RTÉ Player has hosted over 750,000 streams of the World Cup since the competition began seven days ago.
Ireland’s final group match against Nigeria takes place at 11am next Monday 31 July.
Written by David MacRedmond and posted on TheJournal.ie
