Origin 1 was was the most watched event on TV in 2018 so far, with an average national audience of 3.456m (5 City: 2.353m / Regional: 1.103m). This figure was down just 71,000 (-2%) on Game 1, 2017. Game 1, 2018 is the 19th highest rated Origin since 2001, and the 9th highest rated Game 1.
- 5 City: 2.353m – SYD: 985k , MELB: 366k, BRIS: 765k, ADEL: 98k, PER: 139k
- Syd -4,000, Mel +47,000, Bris -38,000, Adel +3,000, Per +1,000. (overnight)
- Regional: 1.103m, QLD: 363k, Nth NSW: 325k, Sth NSW: 277k
- At its peak, almost 3.9 million people were watching Channel Nine or an affiliated regional station.
- The Sydney primary share was 52.4% while in Brisbane it was 56.9%. With the game being played in Melbourne, the share there was 26.1%. Nine also managed a winning primary share in Adelaide, but Seven ranked #1 in Perth.
- The pre-match and post-match coverage also pulled in large audiences, with 1.127m metro viewers and 758,000 respectively.
- OzTAM numbers also don’t include an estimated million-plus fans who watched the game in pubs and clubs.
Origin averaged 55k unique live-streams and totaled 6.6 million minutes of streaming, making it @9NowAU‘s “biggest ever live streaming event”
Game one of the @NRL State of Origin averaged 55k unique live-streams and totaled 6.6 million minutes of streaming, making it @9NowAU's "biggest ever live streaming event" – on top of a national average broadcast audience of 3.456 million #sportsbizAU pic.twitter.com/yfDg6slPIC
— SponsorshipNews (@SponsorshipNews) June 7, 2018
