The NRL take a commanding lead over the AFL early in the season thanks to big ratings on Friday night, while the Matildas win the weekend with more than 1.3m watching on Saturday evening.
Round 2 of the 2026 #AFL season on the Seven Network had an aggregate audience of 1.862m, at an average of —- per game
Thu N Hawks/Swans 727k (Rch 2.118m)
Fri N Crows/Bulldogs 660k (Rch 1.837m)
Sun A Power/Bombres 353k (Rch 1.164m)
Sun A Eagles/Roos 122k
This is up —– YoY, compared to 2025 – agg ave 4.66m after Round 2.
Thursday Night AFL averages 727,000 per match this season, up 9.05% YoY. Friday Night AFL average 608,000 per match this season, down 5.73% YoY. Combined the prime time slots average 667,000 this season up 2.12%.
Round 3 of the 2026 #NRL season on the Nine Network had an aggregate audience of 1.982m, at an average of — per game.
Thu N Raiders/Dogs 737k (Rch 1.616m)
Fri N Storm/Broncos 783k (Rch 1.685m)
Sun A Eels/Dragons 492k (Rch 1.077m)
This is up —- YoY, compared to 2025 agg ave 6.073m after Round 3.
Thursday Night NRL averages 729,000 on Nine, up 5.92% YoY. Friday Night NRL averages 737,000, up 20.68% YoY. Together the Prime time slots average 732,000, up 12.86% YoY.
Sunday afternoon NRL averages 554,000 – this is up 0.73%, as of the end of Round 2.
Matildas – Womens Asian Cup
Saturday #AuSportTV
WAC Final – #Matildas
Ten 1.358m (BVOD 233k) Rch 2.659m
This was higher than the Matildas V China PR Olympic Qualifier in 2024 that rated 1.095m.
#Matildas Matches broadcasts on Ten at the 2026 WAC had an aggregate O/N audience of 4.724m at a average of 787,000 per match, rising to 967k average during the finals. This does not include Paramount+ viewing.
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