Both league competitions kicked off within the last two weeks, and viewers are well and truly tuning in.
The NRL and AFL have delivered record highs for subscription services Foxtel and Kayo.
Data obtained by TV Blackbox reveals after both Round 1 and Round 2 of the NRL, the average NRL audience for Foxtel and Kayo is 420,000, up 14% on 2021.
Round 2 audiences averaged 393,000, up 9% on 2021.
Sunday night’s Bulldogs v Broncos clash was the number two highest rating NRL regular-season game of all-time on subscription television with an average audience of 544,000.
This fell just behind Round 1’s Tigers v Storm game which was the number one NRL regular-season game of all-time with an average audience of 553,000.
Moving over to the AFL, Round 1 saw an average audience of 360,000 for Foxtel and Kayo, up 47% on 2021 R1.
This made it the highest rating AFL Round 1 of all-time and the number two rating regular-season AFL round of all-time.
The Melbourne Demons v Western Bulldogs season opener saw an average audience on Foxtel and Kayo of 470,000, up 28% on the 2021 AFL season opener.
The game was the highest rating AFL regular season match of all-time on subscription television, up 6% on the previous highest rating regular AFL season match (R12 2021).
Further data from Seven’s coverage of the AFL reveal even more impressive numbers.
The epic clash between last year’s Grand Finalists, the Melbourne Demons and the Western Bulldogs, averaged 734,000 viewers, up 9% on the 2021 AFL series average.
The Thursday match between Carlton and Richmond drew 627,000 viewers nationally, while Friday night’s St Kilda vs. Collingwood clash was watched by 665,000 people nationally.
The Friday match was the #1 non-news program of the night, dominating its timeslot and helping Seven win Friday night with a 51% network commercial share across Australia.
On Saturday, 421,000 people nationally tuned into Seven’s live and free coverage of Brisbane vs. Port Adelaide. It was the #1 non-news program of the night in 25 to 54s, #1 in its timeslot in all key demos.
The round one matches ranked as the #1 program in Melbourne on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night.
Seven’s coverage captured 78% of the overall TV audience for round one, including 78% of all viewers in Melbourne and 79% in Adelaide.
The NRL and AFL continue, with coverage across Foxtel, Kayo, Seven (AFL) and Nine (NRL).
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