The Republic of Ireland's Women's World Cup match against Canada was the most watched female team sporting event in Irish TV history, new figures show.
Data released by RTÉ shows that last month's group clash which saw the Republic knocked out of the FIFA tournament had an average of 551,000 viewers.
The broadcaster's coverage of the tournament, in which Spain were crowned winners after beating England in the final on Sunday, saw live match broadcasts and highlights programmes reach more than half of all TV-owning households across the Republic.
Viewing figures for coverage excluding Ireland games was more than double the average share for games during the 2019 Women's World Cup, at 20.9 per cent compared to 8.9 per cent.
The data showed that the Republic's opening game of the tournament against hosts Australia was the biggest live event of the year so far in terms of views on RTÉ Player, with 368,000 streams.
That match was the second-most watched livestream event ever broadcast on the platform, behind the men's World Cup final last year.
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Sunday's women's final had a 48.3 per cent share of all viewers with an average of 333,000 tuning in on RTÉ 2.
RTÉ podcast coverage of the World Cup also saw impressive figures, with the Women’s World Cup podcast having more than 70,000 streams across platforms, while the RTÉ Soccer podcast had around 12,000 streams during the tournament.
RTÉ has said the data shows women's international sporting events continue "to grow, excel and inspire".
The broadcaster's group head of sport, Declan McBennett, said: "This growth must be matched now at national level to provide the legacy the tournament deserves and the platform for further participation growth.”
Meanwhile, RTÉ has announced that all matches in the upcoming men's Rugby World Cup will be free-to-air.
The broadcaster has teamed with Virgin Media Television to provide coverage of the tournament, which will be hosted by France and begins on September 8.
Ireland's first match is against Romania on September 9.
