The Socceroos first World Cup win in 12 years resulted in massive TV ratings for broadcaster SBS.
Australia's 1-0 win over Tunisia on Saturday night kicked off at 9 p.m. (AEDT) and it saw 1.03 million metro viewers alone tune in.
That big number then grows even larger to 1.72m once regional and streaming viewers are also added to the mix.
The huge ratings resulted in SBS edging out every other channel when it came to viewers on Saturday night as they claimed a 29.2 per cent share of viewership that night - their biggest performance of the year.
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To further highlight the attraction of a FIFA World Cup, 256,000 viewers also tuned into the midnight game between Poland and Saudi Arabia that followed on from the Socceroos' famous victory.
Australia's opening match against France was played at 6 a.m. last Wednesday and managed to pull in a solid 461,000 metro viewers too - estimated to have been just over one million once regional audiences and streaming numbers were added in.
"We could not be happier with the first week of the tournament,” Ken Shipp, SBS Director of Sport, said via TV Tonight.
"Millions of Australians have been captivated not just by the Socceroos matches but also other highlights such as Argentina versus Saudi Arabia, with around 40% of the audience coming via SBS On Demand.”
Last night's @Socceroos win has us like...#SBSWorldCup #WeAllSpeakFootball #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/x9zp15HonI
— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) November 26, 2022
SBS rewarded for superb World Cup coverage
A World Cup on SBS just feels right and the old home of football in Australia has shown it still knows how to cover the round ball game.
After ultimately sharing the broadcast duties of the 2018 World Cup in Russia with Optus Sport, SBS managed to snare complete rights to the 2022 tournament and have so far avoided the streaming mishaps from four years ago.
Despite recently taking a step back from football coverage with the closure of The World Game, the broadcaster hasn't lost any of its football DNA and has so far covered the World Cup strongly.
From star-studded and diverse panels to capturing Harry Kewell's excitement in the commentary box, SBS have barely put a foot wrong.
What a moment.. I think my emotions got the better of me 😂 https://t.co/rvlwAvNPV1
— Harry Kewell (@HarryKewell) November 27, 2022
Simply having such a big football tournament freely accessible on TV is also refreshing in an age of the streaming wars.
Being able to wake up, turn on SBS without having to login or deal with any buffering, is a reminder of simpler times in sports broadcasting and audiences are clearly making the most of it.
With the World Cup still just warming up and the Socceroos looking to make the knockout stages for just the second time in their history, SBS look more than ready to deliver and show that the pull of football in Australia remains as strong as ever.
