Concern as State of Origin 2018 viewing figures down 2.5 million since 2012
IT seems not even Brad Fittler’s Baby Blues reclaiming the shield for NSW could inspire more fans to watch State of Origin, with the game’s showpiece event down millions of viewers since 2012.
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RUGBY league’s showpiece State of Origin series has lost more than 1.3 million television viewers in the last 12 months, confirming concerns over future NRL television deals.
And even more alarming is that the series has lost 2.54 million viewers since 2012, a massive 21 per cent of the audience across the country in regional and metro markets.
Channel 9 CEO Hugh Marks and Director of Sport Tom Malone met with the independent commission in Brisbane where concerns were raised about the figures.
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Nine’s ratings on the premiership are also down this year, although Fox Sports has increased.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the combined ratings for all three games this season have slumped 12.7 per cent compared to the 2017 figures.
All three games rated lower than last season, despite the emergence of Freddie Fittler’s Baby Blues and the excitement they created throughout the series with 12 debutants.
Fittler’s team also did an outstanding job to promote each game by allowing unprecedented media access.
The ratings fell from 10.68 million to 9.32 million. This compares to the 1.86 million who watched the 2012 series.
Officials are blaming the Sunday night scheduling for game two of the series in Sydney and the dead rubber for Wednesday night’s match at Suncorp Stadium.
The game on Wednesday night rated 2.68 million, the lowest since 2006. In Sydney the ratings for the dead rubber match were down around 20 per cent compared to last year’s series decider while the Brisbane audience was down 30 per cent.
Yet there was still great interest in Billy Slater’s final game on Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium and the hopes of NSW achieving its first series clean sweep in 18 years.
Commission chairman Peter Beattie told The Daily Telegraph the meeting with Channel 9 bosses was a positive move.
“We’ve agreed to work together very closely in the future,” Beattie said, “It’s in all our interests to grow viewership and the game in general.
“We’re living in changing times where people are using different devices to consume their entertainment. We have to change with the times.
“In fairness with this year’s figures, we had a dead rubber and some legends retired.
“Champions will always eventually retire but we can grow the game on the back of the baby Blues and some of the great young Queensland players coming through.”
Your columnist raised concerns about the ratings and the declining popularity of the series in Monday’s The Daily Telegraph only to be shot down in other areas of the media.
The retirements of superstars Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk and now Slater takes away much of the star appeal.
The continuing decline will hurt the NRL when it next negotiates a TV broadcast deal.
The incredible popularity of Origin is a major reason why the code was able to do a $2 billion deal with Channel 9 and Fox Sports 18 months ago.