England’s semi-final match watched by largest TV audience this year

England’s heartbreaking defeat in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday was watched by the biggest TV viewing audience of the year so far.

A peak audience of 11.7million tuned in to watch the match, which was screened live on BBC One, according to figures released by the corporation.

England lost 2-1 to the United States in Lyon after a tense second half in which they missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed in a marginal VAR offside decision.

The figures also revealed that the peak share of the TV audience during the match was 50.8 per cent.

Ollie McAninch

Ollie McAninch is a former public and private sector economist turned digital media pioneer. After working in the media for over a decade, he helped develop The London Economic to promote independent investigative journalism. When he isn't contributing articles, Ollie spends the bulk of his time looking after animals, pressing apples and planting trees.