State of Origin Game 3: Epic decider can’t halt TV ratings slide
With State of Origin’s position on the rugby league calendar still being finalised, the latest broadcast numbers might just have sealed its fate.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Figures don’t lie and the verdict is very clear.
The 2020 State of Origin TV ratings show a return to mid-season Origin couldn’t come soon enough.
OzTam ratings show the three games of the 2020 series are the lowest since the data organisation started in 2001 and the first time the series has averaged under two million capital city viewers since 2007.
Watch The State of Origin III Full & Mini REPLAY on Kayo with no ad-breaks during play and Fox League Commentary. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
It is a major blow to Channel 9.
The average national five city metro audience for the series sits at 1.7 million, a 16.4 per cent decline year.
Breaking down the figures, Wednesday night’s third State of Origin game meanwhile saw some 1.882 million Australians across the five major cities tuned in to watch the Origin decider at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
That is a year-on-year decline of six per cent, down from two million in 2019 but an improvement on 2018 at 1.76 million.
Including regional markets, figures were down five per cent to a national audience of 2.7 million people.
MORE ORIGIN NEWS
State of Origin: Cameron Munster fast closing in on James Tedesco as NRL’s best player
State of Origin 2020: Wayne Bennett compares Cameron Munster to Alfie Langer
State of Origin 2020: Underdog Queensland claims greatest series win
State of Origin 2020: Jai Arrow slammed for James Tedesco hit
Figures were significantly down for the opening two matches of the Origin series. Game One came in at 1.6 million viewers, down 16 per cent or 306,000 on game two of 2019 at 1.96 million. The second clash improved slightly to 1.654 million viewers but was still down by 15.6 per cent.
The disappointing ratings across the three games comes not only as Origin’s position on the rugby league calendar is hotly debated, but as the NRL is preparing to negotiate its free-to-air television rights deal.
Last week, ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys signalled a return to mid-season Origin in 2021.
“More likely than not that this (State of Origin series) will be the one and only time (in November) because the ratings weren’t very good last week,” V’landys said.
“I know there’s been a few excuses and we’ll see if those excuses are credible come Wednesday night when it’s a live rubber. And I think one of the reasons why the ratings were down was that no one gave Queensland a chance, but anyone that follows rugby league, you always give Queensland a chance and they proved that again. Next year is a different story and if we’re able to have crowds, mid-season is probably the right place but let’s just see what happens tomorrow night.”
Looking at game three figures more closely, Sydney viewers declined by 12 per cent to 769,000 while Melbourne was up 20 per cent at 300,000. Adelaide lifted 25 per cent to 105,000, Perth dropped 20 per cent to 98,000 and Brisbane shed nine per cent to 609,000.
Originally published as State of Origin Game 3: Epic decider can’t halt TV ratings slide
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.