Queen’s state funeral draws 3.9 million Australian viewers

Nearly all the nation’s main broadcasters aired the historic event, however Network 10 chose not to show the service on its main channel.

Just under four million Australians tuned in to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Picture: Getty Images

Nearly four million Australians tuned into the live television broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in London to farewell the longest-reigning British monarch.

Nearly all the nation’s main broadcasters aired the historic event including Australia’s commercial networks, Seven and Nine, and public broadcasters ABC and SBS, however Network 10 chose not to show the service on its main channel.

Figures from television ratings company OzTAM showed Seven’s coverage of the funeral which began at 8pm AEST, drew 975,000 viewers across the five major metropolitan cities, while Nine’s broadcast drew 879,000 viewers, ABC drew 708,000 viewers and SBS had 150,000 viewers.

For the same broadcasters in the regional areas Seven drew 413,000 viewers, Nine drew 223,000 viewers, ABC drew 314,000 viewers and SBS drew 47,000 viewers – or a total of 997,000 viewers.

Sky News Australia also had significant audiences throughout the day and 188,000 viewers tuned into the state funeral, bringing the national audience across the major cities to 3.897 million viewers.

Coverage of the funeral peaked at 254,500 viewers across Sky News, Sky News Extra and Sky News UK.

King Charles III follows behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey following the Queen’s funeral service. Photo by Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Comparatively last year’s AFL grand final had 3.91 million viewers nationally, while the 2021 NRL grand final drew 3.2 million viewers.

Millions of people lined London’s street to watch the procession for the Queen weave its way through the city and down the Mall to Buckingham Palace.

Coverage of the state funeral concluded with a private burial of the late Queen in St George’s Chapel at Windsor.

Viewers with subscription TV and streaming services could also opt to watch the state funeral on international channels including BBC, Sky News UK, CNN and Fox News.

Seven, Nine and the ABC also all aired hours of live coverage from the UK in the lead up to the funeral which included the arrivals of presidents, prime ministers and dignitaries to Westminster Abbey, however Ten and SBS did not.

Ten snubbed one of the biggest events in TV history and instead opted to screen The Amazing Race Australia during the one-hour funeral service which drew just 185,000 viewers and Have You Been Paying Attention which also overlapped with the funeral and drew 324,000 viewers.

Ten viewers who wanted to watch the state funeral on the network instead had to tune into the broadcaster’s 10 Bold channel.

The Australian TV networks have provided extensive coverage since the death of the Queen on September 9, sending teams of presenters, journalists, cameramen and producers to cover the 10-day mourning period prior to the state funeral.

Originally published as Queen’s state funeral draws 3.9 million Australian viewers