The NRL Magic Round 2024 has again proven the key to growing TV ratings is live sport. The audience surge started across the weekend after Nine reported YOY growth for its exclusive coverage of Game 1 of Women’s State of Origin. Thursday’s Women’s State of Origin was a timeslot winner for Nine across Australia and was the #1 program of the night in Sydney and Brisbane.
It secured a National Total TV Reach of 1.983 million, a Total TV National Audience of 941,000 and a BVOD audience of 128,000. The Queensland v New South Wales clash saw TV ratings increases on the same night last year, including +46.
3% for Total TV and +103.2% for BVOD. Still two games to go for 2024 on Nine In addition to being the most-watched Women’s State of Origin match on record, Nine’s FTA audience was higher than FTA ratings for any NRL Telstra Premiership match this season and higher than FTA ratings for any AFL match this year.
The Foxtel Group then recorded its highest audience ever for a regular season round across the Foxtel Group for the games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. An average audience of 545,000 watched all the magic from Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, which hosted every NRL game of the round, across Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go. Foxtel Group had a higher average audience than Nine for two of its three simulcast games – Rabbitohs v Cowboys (528,000) and Storm v Eels (589,000).
Nine’s average national audiences across the Magic Round weekend were 575,000 (Fr.