The FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 has set a new benchmark for the sport as viewers smashed several TV audience records along the way, reports a FIFA statement. Newly crowned world champions Japan also achieved record audiences at home for the final despite the match airing in the early hours of Monday morning.
An average audience of 10.4 million watched Japan beat the USA, while a peak audience of over 15 million witnessed the penalty shoot-out.
This audience is more than three times higher than the previous record for a women's football match in Japan set by the semi-final last week, and it is more than 50% higher than the audience in Japan for the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
"These are solid figures on their own, but when you put them into context with other major sports events they emphatically underline that the FIFA Women's World Cup was an exceptionally popular spectacle for TV viewers," said FIFA TV Director Niclas Ericson.