The BBC "acquired the broadcast rights to the 2019 Women's World Cup as the broadcaster looks to build on the strong viewing figures it enjoyed for the last tournament," according to Tony Connelly of THE DRUM. The BBC will provide "extensive coverage of every game in France" across its TV, radio and online platforms. BBC Sport Dir Barbara Slater said, "Women's football has grown significantly over the last few years and we are proud of the contribution we have made." The BBC also showed the '15 tournament in Canada. The English team's "success" drew "strong audience figures for the BBC." The semifinal match against Japan peaked at 2.4 million viewers on BBC One, with average viewing figures of 1.7 million. The BBC claimed that "up to 2.5 million" U.K. viewers watched each game and 11.9 million viewed "some part of the team's journey." Coverage of the Women's World Cup has "steadily increased over the years" with broadcasters showing a total of 7,781 hours from Canada, representing a 31% increase on the '11 competition, according to FIFA. Securing the rights to the Women's World Cup "will come as a welcome win for the BBC," which lost out to Channel 4 for the rights to Women's Euro 2017. The Open, Formula 1 and the Olympics are "some of the heavy losses" which the organization "has had to endure" to help find an additional £550M ($672.7M) of savings by '21-22 (THE DRUM, 3/6).
