Footy audiences surging on Foxtel’s Kayo streaming service

The sports streaming service now accounts for a big portion of AFL and NRL viewer numbers.

The top matches for the NRL and AFL in recent weeks had 30-40 per cent of the total audiences watching via streaming services. Picture: Getty Images

The Kayo sports streaming service is accounting for more than 30 per cent of Foxtel’s major football match audiences as ratings for the NRL and AFL boom.

Foxtel has enjoyed surging ratings since the resumption of both codes after the COVID-19 pandemic caused early-season shutdowns.

Ratings on the Fox League channel for NRL games are the highest ever for Foxtel, combining viewers across the main Foxtel services and digital sources such as Kayo, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now, while AFL matches have also attracted big audience increases.

Released for the first time using data from linear and digital sources, Foxtel’s AFL ratings on the Fox Footy channel for live matches for the first 12 rounds of 2020 are up 34 per cent compared to the same rounds last year.

Live NRL audiences on Fox League are up 18 per cent compared to the corresponding rounds 1 to 14 of the 2019 season, including the round 6 match between the Sydney Roosters and Parramatta that attracted the largest NRL audience ever of an average 507,000 viewers.

Foxtel Sports executive director Steve Crawley said the AFL ratings highlighted the success of the league’s decision to squeeze 33 matches into 20 days for its round 9 to 12 fixtures.

“What a ripper result for the game,” he said. “Footy have been delighted to bring a unique season to more viewers than ever before, and the AFL could not have been a better partner during these times.”

Live audiences for Fox Footy were up 14 per cent for those matches compared to Rounds 1 to 8 earlier in the season, and up 59 per cent compared to Round 9 to 12 in 2019. Audiences for matches produced and shown only on Foxtel (it shares some AFL rights with Seven West Media) were up 44 per cent for the season.

Foxtel Sports executive director Steve Crawley said the AFL ratings highlighted the success of the league’s decision to squeeze 33 matches into 20 days for its round 9 to 12 fixtures. Picture: Getty Images

Numbers released by Foxtel also showed the increased take-up of Kayo and the other digital sources. The top matches for the NRL and AFL in recent weeks, including two Collingwood games in the AFL and three games of the resurgent Canberra Raiders in the NRL, had 30-40 per cent of the total audiences watching via the streaming services.

News Corporation chief executive Robert Thomson revealed earlier in August that Kayo had attracted 125,000 more subscribers in July alone.

AFL match telecasts on Kayo, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now are up by more than 200 per cent and have increased 150 per cent for NRL. The A-League’s return also saw digital viewers almost match linear ratings, but overall ratings for the soccer competition are down 36 per cent on pre-COVID numbers to 23,000 per match.