NRL celebrate record breaking participation, broadcast & crowd numbers ahead of 2024 finals series
Rugby league’s participation explosion has been matched by soaring crowd and broadcast numbers as the NRL prepares to kick-off week two of the 2024 finals series.
NRL
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Rugby league’s participation explosion has been matched by soaring broadcast numbers as North Queensland and Manly attempt to keep their Cinderella stories alive at the sport’s newest coliseum – Allianz Stadium – this weekend.
The game passed 200,000 participants for the first time in its history earlier this year, that landmark moment coinciding with the sport enjoying its most viewed season ever with 138.5 million viewers.
It is already the most attended premiership season ever with 3.9 million spectators. Those numbers will rise again this weekend as the Cowboys take on the Sharks and Manly meet the Sydney Roosters.
The game has left AFL in its wake in Sydney. The hearts and minds have been won, particularly in western Sydney where the Bulldogs’ resurgence and Penrith’s ongoing domination has strengthened the code’s grip on the area.
The Panthers will be watching closely this weekend as they prepare to meet the winner of the Sharks-Cowboys clash.
Melbourne will meet the winner of the other final between Manly and the Roosters.
If you want a sense for how much this weekend means to the Sea Eagles, you only need to listen to the emotion in Jake Trbojevic’s voice as he talks about being back in the finals and winning.
Trbojevic knows exactly how many finals games he has played and what his winning record looks like. It hasn’t been great but a win over the Bulldogs on opening weekend meant everything.
“That was my seventh game so it was nice to win and keep it going,” Trbojevic said.
Or listen to the defiance in the voice of Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco when he is asked whether his side can win the grand final given their well-documented injuries.
Tedesco didn’t lose his cool, but he didn’t enjoy it either. The Roosters skipper hasn’t played a game he didn’t think he would win.
Or listen to the passion of the North Queensland fans, who booked so many tickets for the trip to Sydney their team will be forced to take a charter flight out of Townsville.
Then there’s Cronulla, who have dubbed Allianz Stadium the ‘Shark Tank in a bid to rally the troops for their game on Friday night.
They wanted the game at their home ground but once PointsBet Stadium was ruled out, they quickly issued a call to arms as they look to turn Allianz Stadium into a sea of black, white and blue.
The strong finals attendance and broadcast figures continues a record year for the NRL on Foxtel.
The 2024 season was the most watched of all time across its platforms – Foxtel, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go and Kayo Sports.
Viewership has grown for each of the past seven years, kickstarted by the NRL’s historic season-opening double header in Las Vegas.
Magic Round then delivered the highest-ever audience for a regular-season round across the Foxtel Group.
And the most wide-open finals series in a decade has the code primed to create even more history.
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Originally published as NRL celebrate record breaking participation, broadcast & crowd numbers ahead of 2024 finals series
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