The Matildas may have offered the nation a historic ratings bonanza last year, but in 2024 the list of Australia’s most-watched sporting broadcasts returned to orthodoxy despite a shift from the old idiot box towards smart TVs and gadgets.
Free-to-air live sports dominate the list of most watched programmes. So dominant are sporting events only The Sign episode of Bluey (audience of 2.28m) and the announcement of the winner of The Block (2.19m) muscled into the overall top 10.
Although the growth of streaming platforms and increasing demands for screen-time have tempered the popularity of free-to-air shows, the legacy channels are now heavily promoting their online offerings. These are now counted in audience numbers, and 7plus and 9Now showed large growth in 2024.
The Matildas drew more than 7m for last year’s Women’s World Cup semi-final against England, but 2024 produced a more even spread across AFL, NRL and the Olympics, which helped secure Nine a strong ratings year despite the challenges of Paris’ timezone.
AFL
The clash between Brisbane and Sydney had the benefit of appeal in both core and non-traditional AFL states, driving the audience beyond four million and into the No 1 position as the year’s most-watched program.
The 2024 grand final drew 20,000 more than the Collingwood-Brisbane decider in 2023, making it the largest audience for an AFL finale since 2021. The match also provided a huge bump for 7plus, which registered a 44% rise in viewers to 655,000. That trend will continue when Seven takes full digital rights from 2025.
The AFLW grand final between Brisbane and North Melbourne attracted 354,000, a slight increase on the 2023 decider between the same teams, but perhaps not the uplift hoped by moving the match into the evening time slot.
Rugby league
The State of Origin series did the heavy lifting for the Nine Network in 2024, averaging 3.4m across the three matches for a 14% increase on 2023. The 864,000 who watched the decider on 9Now made it the most streamed rugby league game.
The Women’s State of Origin decider recorded the highest audience for a women’s rugby league match at 1.1m, and the series enjoyed a seven-figure average overall, vindicating the shift to three matches.
The NRL grand final was the only other programme apart from the AFL grand final and State of Origin to attract an audience of more than 3m. But it was up only slightly on the 2023 decider. A 29% increase on its streaming audience highlights the changing shifts in consumption.
The NRLW season opener recorded a strong draw of 383,000 on a Thursday night, eclipsing even the AFLW grand final. The NRLW decider, as part of the double-header with the men’s, attracted 691,000.
Olympics
Nine’s standout single audience result for the two-week sporting spectacle came on the first Sunday night of the Paris Games, when Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 200m freestyle.
That result highlights the challenging time difference between Paris and Australia, given more dramatic medal sessions were usually held in the hours before dawn for local viewers.
But the network was happy with the overall performance for Paris, highlighting the Games’ popularity with younger viewers.
“Paris 2024 has notably connected with Australians aged 16-39, dispelling media myths and proving that those under 40 gravitate towards live broadcast, live streaming, and on-demand TV for shared cultural experiences,” a Nine statement said.
Tennis
The men’s Australian Open final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev in January attracted an audience of 2.1m. The women’s final between Aryna Zabalenka and Qinwen Zheng drew 1.5m.
The fourth round match between Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev netted an average audience of 1.4 million on Nine. The tournament reported the total number of hours consumed (81.5m) rose 30.5% this year, and 17.6% of all those hours came through 9Now and Stan.
Cricket
While not appearing among the top 10 programs, the Test series between Australia and India has provided a boost for Seven over summer.
Travis Head’s century on day two of the Adelaide Test lifted the audience for the second session beyond one million. Session three of day two in Brisbane, featuring another Head salute, attracted 1.29m.
The Test series is 7Sport’s first, and streaming coverage includes a secondary Hindi commentary feed. More than 1m people watched the first three Australia v India Tests on 7plus Sport, triggering 75,000 new sign-ups.
The BBL under way now is consistently drawing in excess of 500,000, and the WBBL final drew 203,000.
Other sports
The Matildas’ largest audience – almost 1.1m – came against China in June. It was far less than the more-than-7m who tuned into last year’s World Cup semi-final, yet seven matches attracted audiences of 400,000 or more. The Socceroos had fewer matches on free-to-air during the year, but only passed that 400,000 threshold twice, against China in October and Saudi Arabia in November.
The dramatic victory by the Central Coast Mariners over Melbourne Victory in the A-League Men grand final drew 316,000, up slightly on last year.
The broadcast of the Melbourne Cup recorded an audience of 1.9m, just missing out on the top 10 list for the year. The broadcast switched from Channel 10 to Nine in 2024, and the new rightsholders were rewarded with a bump of more than 200,000 viewers.
Rugby union’s best result was an audience of around 500,000 for the Wallabies’ Test against Wales.
