State of Origin TV ratings: How fans reacted to return of mid-season series

NSW won the battle on the field but how did it play out in TV land? The ratings are in for the State of Origin series opener.

Brian To'o on the charge for the Blues. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

A return to mid-season State of Origin has paid off.

After a disastrous hit out last year, viewers have rewarded the NRL by tuning in to the first round of State of Origin 2021.

Some 1.91 million Australians across the five city metro markets tuned in to watch the NSW Blues smash the Queensland Maroons 50-6, with a total of 2.7 million watching the game nationally.

That audience number peaked at 3.152 million people nationally.

Overall the figures represent a jump of 13.4 per cent on game one of 2020.

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Brian To'o on the charge for the Blues in the State of Origin series opener. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

It is a return to form after a shocking series in 2020, when, due to the global pandemic, the annual State of Origin blockbuster was held in November instead of being played in the middle of the NRL season.

The first game of the 2020 series came in at 1.6 million viewers across metro markets, representing a 17-year ratings low.

At the time, with viewing numbers down dramatically, ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys signalled Origin would return to mid-season 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. “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.”

Latrell Mitchell on the charge for the Blues against Queensland. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

Looking at game one figures more closely, Sydney viewers were up at 861,000 while 609,000 people watched in Brisbane.

Mediaweek Editor James Manning and television commentator James Manning said it is a good result for the host broadcaster.

“After the disappointment of 2020, Nine and its advertisers should be happy with the result that saw over half of all viewers in Sydney and Brisbane watching the coverage,” Manning said.

“Nine even managed to win the night in Melbourne and Adelaide but fell short in Perth, returning a strong national result for the network.”

Brent Williams, Nine’s Director of Sport, said: “We’re thrilled that so many viewers tuned into last night’s broadcast of State of Origin across both Nine & 9NOW. At its peak, more than 3 million Australians were watching this great rivalry play out on our linear broadcast, making it the most watched program of the year and an increase of 13% on last year’s game one. A further 228,000 viewers streamed the match on 9Now – a massive 47% year-on-year increase.”