The AFR reports that in 2024, the Nine Network had an average television audience of 521,600 for the home and away NRL series, up 11 per cent on the previous year. There are still two weeks to go in the NRL finals, but the average audience for Nine is 759,100.
Seven says the home and away AFL season average audience was 547,000, while Foxtel’s AFL streaming average was 239,000. Finals coverage to date is also larger than NRL: Seven is averaging 968,000 viewers and Foxtel’s online services have an average of 410,000. The Foxtel numbers don’t include people with set-top boxes, so the total is almost certainly even bigger.
More than 44,000 fans turned out to watch the Swans fight their way into the grand final, according to independent crowd data website Austadiums, while 19,124 watched the NRL’s Sharks beat the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium. Austadiums data shows the AFL averaged 38,056 people at a match this season, while the NRL averaged 20,207. More than 8 million fans watched live AFL matches, while 4 million attended NRL games.
