Channel 7 makes extraordinary decision on Matildas coverage

With all eyes expected to be on the Matildas in their knockout match against France on Saturday, Channel Seven has been forced to make an extraordinary scheduling decision.

The quarter-finals World Cup match will be played in Brisbane and is due to kick off at 5pm which would clash with the nightly news bulletin at 6pm.

But the intense interest in the Matildas (Monday night’s game against Denmark was the most-watched program of the year) means Channel Seven will make the rare move of bumping the news to accommodate the game.

Channel Seven says it will screen Saturday’s Matildas clash on the main channel in all states and territories, shifting the news to the end of the match around 7pm.

The AFL’s scheduled game between Carlton and Melbourne will be pushed back to 7.30pm, after the news.

The Matildas’ game against Denmark on Monday night was an absolute ratings bonanza for Channel Seven.

The thrilling match in which the Aussies trounced Denmark 2-0 was the highest-rating program of the entire year, beating all other sports and reality TV shows.

The network said 6.54 million people tuned in on Seven and 7plus to watch the Matildas reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

The knockout match attracted a larger audience than last year’s AFL Grand Final or the rugby league State of Origin series and represents another landmark for women’s sport in Australia.

The Matildas effect is also bolstering ratings for Seven’s local news, which attracted 136,000 viewers at 6pm on Monday night – more than double the figure registered by its nearest rival, Nine.