An entertaining, nail-biting NRL grand final featuring ratings drawcards Melbourne and Brisbane has drawn the highest average television audience for any program in 2025, eclipsing the AFL decider for the first time in a decade.
An average audience of 4.46 million tuned in for the Broncos’ pulsating 26-22 victory over the Storm, with 6.4 million Australians tuning in at some point in the Channel Nine broadcast. The AFL grand final nine days ago averaged 4.18 million, also with a “reach” of 6.4 million.
Nine’s managing director for streaming and broadcast, Amanda Laing, said the “phenomenal ratings” showed the network’s “unwavering commitment” to the code.
“We believe the greatest game of all should be accessible to everyone, and by providing that universal, free-to-air access, we are helping to grow the sport’s fan base in every corner of the country,” she said. “To see that commitment reflected in record-breaking audience numbers is incredibly rewarding.”
The NRL audience was helped by a competitive contest, given the result was not certain until the final minute and meaning more fans tuned in for longer. On the other hand, Brisbane’s defeat of Geelong in the AFL decider looked likely early in the final term.
The breakthrough is timely for the NRL as it continues negotiations on a new broadcast deal commencing in 2028. Nine is expected to bid to show matches across free-to-air and its streaming platform Stan.
Others, such as Seven – which recently won the rights to next year’s Rugby League World Cup – and pay-TV incumbent Foxtel/Kayo are likely to take part in negotiations, and the NRL hopes new streaming players can inflate the value of rights beyond what the AFL receives for its seven-year, $4.5bn deal with Seven and Foxtel that began this year.
The last time an NRL grand final attracted a larger television audience than the AFL was in 2015, when the Broncos went down to the Cowboys thanks to a late Johnathan Thurston field goal. Hawthorn defeated West Coast in that year’s AFL decider in a one-sided affair marking the Hawks’ third flag in a row.
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Despite the NRL’s narrow victory in this year’s TV contest between the major winter sports, the AFL’s showpiece performed well.
The Channel Seven exclusive was the most-watched AFL grand final since 2005, and the pre-match entertainment featuring Snoop Dogg drew a higher audience than Katy Perry did the preceding year.
The Brownlow medal broadcast in the lead-up also attracted 1.45 million, its highest audience since 2015.
