The thrilling 2026 AFL Grand Final has rewritten the television ratings record, with Brisbane’s win over Fremantle drawing a national total TV audience of 4.52 million across Seven and 7plus Sport.
The result makes the 2026 AFL Grand Final the most-watched program on Australian television this year and the highest-rating AFL Grand Final on record.
The 4.52 million national audience was up 8 per cent on the previous year, when the 2025 AFL Grand Final between the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats averaged 4.076 million viewers.
It also pushed the decider beyond the recent Grand Final benchmarks recorded in 2021 and 2016, both of which had previously stood among the strongest AFL television results of the modern era.
The 2021 Grand Final, played in Perth and featuring Melbourne’s victory over the Western Bulldogs, averaged 4.16 million viewers, while the 2016 Western Bulldogs-Sydney Grand Final delivered 4.089 million.
The latest result therefore places 2026 comfortably ahead of both.
The season-defining match which featured a nail-biting, narrow margin throughout the contest and two interstate sides, kept the whole on the edge of their seats.
In data obtained by this website, we can reveal an average audience of 1.259 million watched the match in Melbourne. 581k fans enjoyed the victory in Brisbane, while 635k were heartbroken in Perth.
The match also achieved an audience of 468k in Sydney and 352k in Adelaide.
Streaming provided another substantial lift for Seven, with 1.42 million viewers watching the Grand Final on 7plus Sport.
That was up 44 per cent from 984,000 in 2025, according to Seven, and helped give 7plus what the broadcaster described as its biggest day ever.
The streaming audience has now more than doubled in two years. The 2024 AFL Grand Final attracted 655,000 viewers on the platform, before the figure climbed to 969,000 in 2025 and then to 1.42 million this year.
The broader ratings trend also highlights the sharp rebound the AFL Grand Final has achieved since the lower results recorded before and immediately after the pandemic.
The 2019 Grand Final, when Richmond defeated GWS by 89 points, averaged 2.939 million viewers, the lowest result in the recent ratings history supplied.
The COVID-affected 2020 Grand Final between Richmond and Geelong, played in Brisbane, lifted to 3.812 million, before the 2021 match surged to 4.16 million.
Ratings then fell to 2.96 million for the 2022 Geelong-Sydney Grand Final, before recovering to 3.75 million for Collingwood’s win over Brisbane in 2023.
The audience climbed again in 2024, when the Brisbane-Sydney Grand Final attracted 4.02 million viewers, followed by 4.076 million for Brisbane-Geelong in 2025.
That progression has now culminated in the 4.52 million result for Brisbane-Fremantle in 2026.
The comparison across the past decade shows the latest Grand Final well ahead of the 2017 Richmond-Adelaide audience of 3.524 million and the 2018 West Coast-Collingwood figure of 3.378 million.
Broadcast ratings throughout the day
Seven’s surrounding 2026 Grand Final coverage also recorded large audiences.
The AFL Grand Final Post-Match Presentations had a national total TV audience of 3.96 million, up 18 per cent on 2025, and reached 6 million people.
That compares with an average of 3.798 million for the presentations in 2025.
The AFL Grand Final On The Ground averaged 3.27 million, while the AFL Grand Final Pre-Game Entertainment attracted a national total TV audience of 1.83 million.
The pre-game entertainment, featuring Kylie Minogue, G Flip, Michael Paynter, William Barton and Mike “Up There Cazaly” Brady, reached 4.35 million people and was up 20 per cent on the previous year.
In 2025, the comparable pre-game program attracted 1.5 million viewers.
The 2026 AFL Grand Final Countdown averaged 693,000, compared with 538,000 in 2025, while the AFL Grand Final Brunch increased from 408,000 last year to 495,000.
The AFL Grand Final Post-Match averaged 519,000.
The figures helped Seven rank as the number one network on Saturday, with the AFL Grand Final, AFL Grand Final Post-Match Presentations, AFL Grand Final Pre Game Entertainment and AFL Grand Final On The Ground filling the top four program positions. 7NEWS ranked fifth.
From 6am to 6pm, Seven recorded an 86 per cent commercial audience share among all people and 88.5 per cent among viewers aged 25 to 54.
7plus recorded an 85.6 per cent BVOD audience share on Saturday and an 89.3 per cent share of live streaming.
Those figures were also higher than Seven’s reported all-people commercial share in 2025, when the network recorded 81.1 per cent between 6am and 6pm.
Across the wider season, Seven said the 2026 AFL Finals Series, excluding the Grand Final, averaged 1.12 million viewers, up 9 per cent from 1.03 million in 2025.
The full AFL season on Seven and 7plus Sport, including the Grand Final, averaged 681,000 viewers, up 9 per cent from 626,000 the previous year.
Across social media, 7AFL’s platforms generated more than 16,492,500 impressions, 1,514,560 engagements and 9,317,520 video views during Grand Final Day.
Southern Cross Media Group Director of Sport, TV, Audio and Streaming Chris Jones said:
“In an extraordinary end to the greatest Finals Series we’ve ever seen, Australians turned to Seven and 7plus Sport in record numbers, making the 2026 AFL Grand Final the highest rating Grand Final ever.
“From the opening moments of our coverage outside the MCG, through Kylie Minogue’s show-stopping pre-game performance, an unforgettable match and the premiership celebrations, Australians were with us every step of the way.
To see audiences of this scale across the entire day is an outstanding result and speaks to the incredible power of the AFL and the appetite Australians have to experience our biggest sporting moments live and free.
“Thank you to the AFL and the players for putting on a spectacular show,” he said.
“With a record 1.42 million Australians streaming the Grand Final on 7plus Sport, the continued growth of both broadcast television and digital streaming demonstrates the extraordinary strength of Seven across every screen.
Together, we’re able to reach more Australians and make our biggest sporting moments more accessible than ever – live and free, wherever and however audiences choose to watch.
“As we look ahead to an action-packed sport schedule including the Rugby League World Cup, Bathurst 1000, Spring Racing Carnival including The Everest, Caulfield Cup and historic Cox Plate, an incredible Summer of Cricket and the AFLW Finals, we look forward to delivering more world-class sport coverage to all Australians.”
Seven Head of AFL and Sport Innovation Gary O’Keeffe said:
“From the opening week of the Finals through to an unforgettable record-breaking Grand Final, Australians have just enjoyed the greatest AFL Finals Series ever, and the extraordinary audiences across Seven and 7plus Sport demonstrate just how strongly it captured the nation.
“Week after week, the football delivered – thrilling contests, huge moments, compelling storylines and performances that will be remembered for years to come.
“The passion Australians have for this game has been on full display throughout September, and it has been a privilege for our team to bring every moment of both the home and away season and Finals Series live and free to fans across the country.
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve delivered across Seven and 7plus Sport this season, and we already can’t wait to do it all again in 2027,” he said.
“Congratulations to Chris Fagan and the Brisbane Lions on a remarkable third consecutive premiership and their second three-peat in club history – becoming just the second club, alongside Melbourne, to achieve that feat.
For Fremantle, the heartbreak will be immense.
With the entire state of Western Australia behind them, the Dockers were exceptional all season and gave absolutely everything on Grand Final Day.
“We thank our partners at the AFL and its clubs for another record-breaking season on Seven and 7plus Sport and look forward to rounding out an action-packed Round 7 of the AFLW today as the race to the Finals Series continues, live and free on Seven and 7plus.”
Seven Director of Sales, Television and Streaming Katie Finney said:
“There’s no better platform to connect with audiences than the AFL Grand Final, and this year proved it once again.
The 2026 decider was the most watched program of the year and the highest-rating Grand Final ever, cementing its status as the #1 winter sport for both viewers and brands.
“Seven’s AFL coverage across the entire season delivered unmatched reach and engagement across all demographics and screens, while 7plus Sport has once again set a new streaming record for AFL.
Free, live sport is where brands can connect with audiences and cultural moments at scale.
“The biggest events this summer are on Seven and 7plus Sport, including the upcoming Bathurst 1000 in two weeks, the Rugby League World Cup exclusive to Seven and 7plus Sport kicking off 15 October and the first Test match between Australia and New Zealand starting 9 December.
I’m excited to have brands once again having the platform of live sport to connect with Australian audiences at scale.”
Seven’s Grand Final commentary team included James Brayshaw, Brian Taylor, Abbey Holmes, Kane Cornes, Luke Hodge, Matthew Richardson, Nick Riewoldt, Mitch Cleary, Hamish McLachlan, Daisy Pearce, Dale Thomas, Joel Selwood, Campbell Brown, Kate McCarthy, Brendan Fevola and Jason Richardson.
