Foxtel and Kayo viewing numbers soar to record highs for F1 Australian Grand Prix

Foxtel’s broadcast of Melbourne’s grand prix this month surpassed viewing numbers on the event’s free-to-air broadcaster for the first time in the history of the race.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc wins the 2022 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park. Picture: David Caird

Foxtel’s broadcast of Melbourne’s grand prix this month surpassed viewing numbers on the event’s free-to-air broadcaster for the first time in the history of the race.

Figures showed an average audience of 611,000 viewers tuned into Foxtel’s airing of the event across its platforms, including streaming service Kayo – an increase of 66 per cent compared to the 2019 Melbourne grand prix – while the average free-to-air audience on Channel 10 was 567,000 viewers, down 20 per cent.

During the Melbourne grand prix event, Foxtel and Kayo also reached a tipping point of more than 1.2 million subscribers concurrently watching sport at the same time, across Fox Sports, ESPN, beIN and Sky Racing.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany said the growth in subscribers to the business is ‘unprecedented’. Picture: Ryan Osland

Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany said the continued boom in sports viewing was being shown through Foxtel’s increasing subscribers, of which there are now 2.4 million.

“We have always been strong in sports but 2022 is seeing us take audience scale and growth in sports to a new level,” he said.

“While this is exactly what we set out to achieve with Foxtel’s loyal base and the rapid growth of Kayo, it’s not overstating things to say this scale is unprecedented.

“It demonstrates the appeal that our 50-plus sports, differentiated coverage and no ad breaks during live action holds for sports fans.”

Overall, the grand prix drew 1.18 million viewers nationally, up 10 per cent on the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. The popular Netflix series Drive to Survive is believed to have introduced many new viewers to motorsport since last season.

Supercar viewing also significantly increased over the grand prix weekend, averaging 200,000 viewers across all four races, up 31 per cent on 2019.

There was also a record attendance at the Albert Park racetrack, with about 420,000 fans turning out over the four days of action from April 7 to 10.

The strong Foxtel viewership during the grand prix adds to the broadcaster’s success this year, which has seen the NRL TV audiences up by 14 per cent year-on-year across the first five rounds of the season.

AFL audiences have also continued to soar, with viewing numbers across the first four rounds up 29 per cent compared to 2020.