AFL scores major victory over rival codes with record grand final viewership

The biggest loser in ratings over a huge weekend of sport was the Bledisloe Cup, while the AFL grand final reached a massive audience in a major win over rivals.

Brisbane Lions. Picture: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The AFL has scored a major victory over rival codes with its grand final TV ratings.

Saturday’s decider between Brisbane and Geelong reached a phenomenal 6.09 million on Channel 7’s main channel and 7Plus.

The average audience of 4.076 million is all the more impressive considering the game clashed with the Bledisloe Cup.

The AFL audience was slightly more than last year’s Lions v Swans decider.

The biggest loser over the weekend was the Bledisloe cup game between the Wallabies and the All Blacks. It rated only 544,000 on Channel 9 and 9Now, although the figure does not include Stan.

The AFL’s average rating of 4.076 million is better than the highest rating NRL show this year, the State of Origin III decider, which attracted an audience of 3,961,000.

TOP RATING GAMES

AFL GF 25 Lions v Geelong 4,076,000

AFL GF 24 Lions v Swans 4,024,000

ORIGIN III 24 NSW v QLD 3,961,000

NRL GF 24 Panthers v Storm 3,537,000

# Bledisloe Cup Aust v NZ 544,000*

*Not including Stan

Originally published as AFL scores major victory over rival codes with record grand final viewership