England vs USA becomes most watched UK TV programme of 2019

England’s 2-1 defeat to the USA in the semi-final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 was the most watched television show of the year so far in the UK.

According to the BBC, the broadcast on Tuesday night reached a peak audience of 11.7 million viewers, equivalent to 50.8% of the available audience.

The match also became the most viewed women’s football match ever on UK TV.

It is the fourth time during the tournament that the record has been broken by England. England’s opening 2-1 victory against Scotland attracted 6.1 million, while the 3-0 defeats of Cameroon and Norway on June 23 and June 27 drew 6.9 million and 7.6 million viewers respectively.

England will round out their tournament with the third-place playoff against the loser of Sweden vs. the Netherlands on Saturday, July 6.