Australia’s three grand finals over the weekend attracted millions of television viewers and produced record ratings, as all three delivered late drama.
But none came close to the spectacular audience for the Matildas at the Women’s World Cup, which is almost certain to claim the crown as the year’s biggest TV event and retain its place as the most-watched show of all time.
Channel Nine reported on Monday morning the NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos attracted a national average audience of 2.9 million viewers on television and 605,000 on streaming. The total audience was 3.52 million viewers, up 28% on the 2022 decider between Penrith and Parramatta.
The match set a record for the highest live-streaming audience for an AFL or NRL grand final in Australian television history.
The 2023 NRLW grand final between the Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast Titans was the most watched game in the competition’s history on television and streaming, recording a total figure of 794,000 viewers.
Nine’s director of 9Now and programming, Hamish Turner, said his company’s “investment in the women’s rugby league was vindicated again yesterday”.
Collingwood’s tense victory over Brisbane in the AFL grand final on Saturday afternoon attracted an average of close to 3.4 million viewers on Channel Seven, as well as 441,000 on 7Plus – a record audience for an AFL match on a streaming platform.
The total audience was up 22% on last year’s grand final between the Geelong Cats and Sydney Swans.
The AFL decider was the most watched TV program in 2023 outside the Women’s World Cup, which was also broadcast on the network alongside subscription service Optus.
In August, the Matildas set a ratings record during their World Cup semi-final against England.
The match reached almost 11.2 million Australians nationally, and had an average audience of 7.1 million. That was the highest mark for any television program since the modern ratings scheme was established in 2001.
The Matildas’ audience was an outlier, bucking a decades-long plateauing of TV ratings, as audiences continue to splinter across different on-demand platforms.
Channel Seven will gain greater access to AFL content on its 7Plus service starting in 2025 as the code’s new broadcast deal comes into operation.
Seven West Media’s chief revenue officer, Kurt Burnette, said the new arrangements “bring massive audiences in 2024 and beyond … with the new rights unlocking the full audience potential of free sport for advertisers and brands”.
Fox Sports and its subscription platform Kayo have retained the rights to the AFL and NRL, excluding each competition’s grand final which are exclusively on free-to-air.
• This article was amended on 2 October 2023 to correct the reference to Seven’s digital rights for AFL content expanding next year. They will expand in 2025.
