How Channel Nine’s NRL TV ratings compares to AFL on Channel 7

Channel 9 scored a small victory in the TV ratings wars thanks to Brisbane’s inclusion in the NRL grand final, but again fell to rival network Channel 7 and its AFL coverage. See the figures.

Jonathon MoranChief Entertainment Writer

AFL grand final. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos via Getty Images

less than 2 min read

3:20PMOctober 02, 2023

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Which code faired better – the NRL or the AFL?

In a red hot weekend of grand final footy, Aussie Rules trumped Rugby League in the TV ratings war with Seven coming out on top over Nine.

A national television audience of 3.4 million people tuned in to see Collingwood defeat the Brisbane Lions in the AFL grand final on Saturday compared to the 2.9 million that watched the Penrith Panthers triumph over the Brisbane Broncos Sunday night.

Streaming figures lifted both codes. For the NRL, the total figure reached 3.52 million viewers, behind the AFL at 3.84 million.

The NRLW Grand Final between winners the Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast Titans scored the highest ever ratings in the competition history with a total of 794,000 viewers.

Breaking down the NRL grand final figures, some 854,000 viewers watched the game in Sydney while 623,000 tuned in to the game from Brisbane. In Melbourne, the numbers were down at 349,000.

Channel 9 scored a small ratings win. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty

Channel 7 scored a comprehensive win over their rival network. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty

Not surprisingly, the big winner for 2023 TV sport has been the Matildas.

For the World Cup semi-final against England, the Matildas drew a whopping national audience of 11.2 million, with an average audience of 7.1 million.

“When comparing the two grand finals, it looks like a big win for Seven, which is on a roll after all the huge audiences that turned out for the Matildas games during the World Cup,” MediaWeek Editor and industry commentator James Manning said. “Despite the smaller crowd, Nine’s NRL audience will still be one of the biggest audiences on Australian television this year. While viewing habits remain volatile, sport seems to be the exception with live sport in particular the one guaranteed piece of content when it comes to securing solid TV audiences.”