NZ TV ratings data is sourced from Sky Sport and is generally Reach based unless specified. Information from SkyNZ, Warriors.kiwi and the NRL.
- Source: Nielsen eTAM AP05+, Data: Cumulative reach, Super Rugby Pacific 2023 & 2024, Sky Sport 1-4 & Sky Open
2025 Season
March 6 – Sky Sport
NRL Premiership
The NRL kicked off with much fanfare in Vegas, and Warriors fans tuned in in huge numbers for their initial game, with 402k people watching the Raiders v Warriors match from Las Vegas on Sky and free-to-air on Sky Open. A further 91k watched on Sky Go and 64k on Sky Sport Now.
According to Warriors.kiwi – The match was broadcast at 1pm NZT. In comparison, last year’s Vegas double-header drew a combined viewership of 159K (+93%).
Super Rugby
Rugby across Super Rugby Pacific (Rounds 1-3) and Super Rugby Aupiki (Round 1) is continuing to show strong growth in audience. 1.14 million people have tuned into Super Rugby Pacific across the first 3 rounds on Sky Sport and Sky Open, a 12% rise on the 2024 tournament. A further 173k people watched on Sky Go (42% up on 2024) and 173k on Sky Sport Now (16% up on 2024).
Hurricanes v Blues proved to be the most popular match of the weekend, with 500k viewers tuning in on Sky Sport and Sky Open, 49k on Sky Go and 90k on Sky Sport Now.
With Sky Super Rugby Aupiki opening this weekend, it was pleasing to see that 237k people watched round one on Sky Sport and Sky Open, a significant 28% rise on round 1 in 2024. A further 17k people watched on Sky Go (30% up on 2024) and 27k on Sky Sport Now (11% up on 2024).
A-League
Viewership of the A-League has grown significantly year on year, fuelled by Auckland FC’s maiden season. 1.2 million people have tuned into the 21 rounds of A-League coverage so far on Sky and Sky Open, a 46% increase on the 2024 season. A further 150k watched on Sky Go (132% up on 2024) and 208k on Sky Sport Now (54% up on 2024).
The Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix derby from the preceding weekend has proved the most popular match in the season so far, with 233k people watching on Sky Sport and free-to-air on Sky Open. 20k watched on Sky Go and 39k watched on Sky Sport Now.
April 19th – Sky Sport, The Post
- https://www.sky.co.nz/audiences-for-sport-growing-on-sky-following-sky-sport-big-weekend
- https://www.thepost.co.nz/sport/360658813/sky-data-reveals-small-super-rugby-increase-flat-nrl-and-kiwis-shift-towards-digital
NRL
The NRL, has already commanded 1.2 million viewers on Sky Sport and Sky Open across the opening six weeks of the season, during which time Sky Sport Now’s audience has grown by 4% to more than 201,000, and Sky Go’s has risen by 13% to over 196,000.
The Warriors’ meeting with the Melbourne Storm attracted an audience of 349,000 live on Sky Sport 1 and live-to-delayed on Sky Open, just under 102,000 on Sky Sport Now, and just over 60,000 on Sky Go.
The Post reported that the increase in digital didnt quite make up for the decrease in linear, with ratings overall down 1%.
Super Rugby Pacific
The thriller between the Hurricanes and Crusaders in Wellington on Friday 11 April stood out as the most-watched match of Super Rugby Pacific round nine, drawing an audience of 446,000 live on Sky Sport 1 and live-to-delayed on Sky Open, 98,900 on Sky Sport Now, and 59,570 on Sky Go.
Those numbers bring Sky’s total audience for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season to 1.53 million viewers on Sky Sport and Sky Open through the first nine rounds. Viewership on Sky Sport Now, meanwhile, has increased by 12% year-on-year to just under 243,000 throughout that same period, while Sky Go’s audience has been boosted by 30% to over 247,000.
A-League
The A-League continues to flourish in the wake of Auckland FC’s title tilt. With three rounds left to play in the regular season, more than 1.31 million people have watched the competition on Sky Sport and Sky Open – a 40% increase compared to the 2023/24 season.
That trend continues on Sky’s digital platforms, with just under 228,000 streaming on Sky Sport Now, up by 46% on last season and more than 167,000 on Sky Go, up by 115%.
June 5 – The Post
Super Rugby
Total match attendance across the competition has increased 6 per cent year-on-year, defying a reduction in total regular season games from 84 to 77.
In Australia, Stan Sport has confirmed a 27 per cent increase in average audience across the regular season, while average free-to-air audiences on Nine grew by 13 per cent.
In New Zealand, more than 1.83 million people have tuned in on Sky Sport and Sky Open, while digital viewership on Sky Go and Sky Sport Now grew by more than 19 per cent.
- Most watched: Blues v Hurricanes in early March. nearly 504,000 on Sky Sport and Sky Open, plus 139,000 on digital channels Sky Go and Sky Sport Now.
In Fiji concurrent viewership on the Walesi App peaked at 395,436 – more than a third of the Fijian population.
Netball
The Black Ferns have had a big year on the broadcast front. Sky said 680,000 people watched the Pacific Four series on Sky Sport and Sky Open – a 42% increase on the 2024 competition.
A further 221,000 people watched on digital channels Sky Go and Sky Sport Now, an uplift of around 72% on last year, and the Black Ferns-Australia test drew a combined linear-digital audience of 360,000.
October 6 – NRL Grand Final
Grand Final viewership surged in New Zealand, delivering an average audience of 181k, up 15% year-on-year.
October 9 – Rugby Union
Across all six domestic test matches, total viewership on Sky Sport and Sky Open reached 1.8 million (1), with around 754,000 fans watching via Sky digital channels (2).
The All Blacks v South Africa clash on 6 September at Eden Park recorded the most engaged audience (AUD) for an All Blacks match on Sky Sport since the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final.
886,000 people watched on Sky Sport and Sky Open, and 480,000 viewers tuned into Sky’s digital channels. 10% of the Sky Sport viewers chose Sky’s te reo Māori commentary, and overall viewership commanded an impressive 60% share of the TV watched while on air (3).
The All Blacks v Australia Bledisloe Cup match on 27 September drew the most eyeballs, with 967,000 watching on Sky Sport and Sky Open – and was also the most-watched rugby match of the year on Sky Open.
2024 Season
In March 2025, The NRL put out a graph with total aggregated average viewership across all competitions at 13.7m for the season in NZ. With 302 matches shown on Sky and its channels, this puts average match viewership at about 45,000 for the year.
NRL – Warriors.kiwi
After nine rounds of the competition almost 1.59 million New Zealanders have enjoyed matches on Sky Sport and free-to-air on Sky Open, a lift of 14% year-on-year.
NRL matches were also streamed more than 5.9 million times, an increase of 19% on the 2023 season, thanks to over 185,500 unique viewers on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.
The One New Zealand Warriors’ matches are the most popular so far with the match against the Raiders on March 22 attracting an audience of 469,800 people with a further 63,800 viewers streaming on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.
The Warriors v Sharks match on March 8 was the second most popular with 461,100 people watching and more than 64,280 streaming while Warriors v Sea Eagles contest came in third with 433,800 people watching and nearly 74,500 streaming.
Warriors lists the data source: Nielsen eTAM AP05+, Data: Cumulative reach, NRL 2023 & 2024, Sky Sports 1-4 & Sky Open
Super Rugby
By the end of the 2024 DHL Super Rugby Pacific competition, nearly 2.1 million New Zealanders have tuned in to watch the action on Sky Sport and free-to-air on Sky Open, a lift of 12% on the 2023 tournament – and up from over 1.94 million at the end of the 2024 regular season.
A further 249,000 unique viewers enjoyed the action over on digital channels Sky Sport Now and Sky Go, with over 6.81 million streams throughout the tournament. We know that many of our streaming customers cast the match to the big screen and ‘co-view’ with friends and family, so the number of actual viewers on Sky streaming services is likely to be significantly higher.
The Blues v Chiefs final on Saturday attracted the largest audience of the tournament, with nearly 644,000 watching on Sky Sport and Sky Open, and an impressive 113,000 unique viewers on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.
The Blues v Crusaders match on 25 May retained its high rating status, coming in third place for viewership, with nearly 552,000 people tuning in on Sky Sport and Sky Open throughout the match and nearly 60,900 people streaming on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.
