Press Release
It was a night of record television ratings as the Queensland Maroons’ 12-10 win over the NSW Blues recorded the highest rugby league audience in history for the Nine Network.
A massive, record-breaking, free-to-air television audience of 2.699 million across the 5 City Metro market, with a peak of 3.103 million, watched the Maroons clinch their eighth straight Origin series last night. This is the largest Origin audience since the inception of OzTAM in 2001.
A combined Metro and Regional average audience of 4.232 million enjoyed the epic battle on Channel Nine.The game was the number one program across the 5 City Metro, East Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for all key demographics: 25-54s, 18-49s and 16-39s. It was the number one program for Total People across the 5 City Metro, East Coast, Sydney and Brisbane.
In the Regional markets Origin III averaged 1.533 million viewers and peaked at 1.801 million.The 2013 Holden State of Origin Series reached 7.6 million viewers across the 5 City Metro and 3.916 million viewers in the Regional markets.
“This huge audience is a fitting reflection of a fantastic game of rugby league in the biggest and best competition there is,” Nine Entertainment Co. CEO, David Gyngell, said.“It’s a tribute first and foremost to the players in this amazing gladiatorial contest, also to the NRL and the
clubs who help to deliver the game’s best. “And I am very proud of the world-class coverage produced by Steve Crawley and his Wide World of Sports
team.”
Nine’s State of Origin pre-match show averaged 1.810 million viewers and peaked at 2.499 million across the 5 City Metro. It was a top two performer across the 5 City, East Coast, Sydney and Brisbane markets for Total People, 25-54s, 18-49s and 16-39s. In Regional areas the pre-match show averaged 1.015 viewers and peaked at 1.444 million. A combined audience of 2.825 million watched the Origin preview.
The post-match wrap-up averaged 1.394 million viewers and peaked at 2.308 million in the 5 City Metro areas. It was the fifth most watched program of the night across the 5 City Metro for Total People, and third overall for 25-54s, 18-49s and 16-39s. In the Regional market the post-game analysis averaged 764,000 viewers and peaked at 1.277 million. A combined Metro and Regional audience of 2.158 million watched the post-match
review.
A massive audience of 1.165 million watched the game in Sydney on Channel Nine, with a peak of 1.292 million. It was the number one program of the night in Sydney – while the pre-match show which averaged 765,000 viewers was number two and the post-match show with 503,000 was third – for Total People and all key demographics: 25-54, 18-49 and 16-39. The Origin decider gave the Nine Network in Sydney a big free-to-air audience share for Total People (56.1%), 25-54s (61.1%), 18-49s (62.6%) and 16-39s (65.5%).
In Brisbane, where the game recorded the third highest Origin III ratings in history, there was an average audience of 865,000, peaking at 952,000. The Nine Network in Brisbane had a dominant free-to-air share last night in the Total People (61.0%), 25-54 (63.3%), 18-49 (67.0%) and 16-39 (71.1%) demographics.
Nine secured its highest prime-time free-to-air network share last night (since OzTAM began in 2001) in the combined Sydney and Brisbane markets for People 18-49 and 16-39, and in Brisbane for People 18-49 and 16-39.
In Melbourne, the game recorded the highest ever Origin ratings, with an average audience of 464,000 for Total People and a peak at 576,000. The Nine Network in Melbourne won the night in the Total People (34.0%), 25-54 (36.7%), 18-49 (37.5%) and 16-39 (37.8%) demographics.
In Adelaide, the game also achieved the best ever Origin ratings with an average audience of 95,000 and a peak of 129,000. The Nine Network in Adelaide had an impressive free-to-air share last night for Total People (28.5%), 25-54s (30.7%), 18-49s (29.1%) and 16-39s (30.3%).
In Perth, an average audience of 110,000 watched the game live on GEM, making it the best rating game three and the second highest State of Origin match ever broadcast in WA. The audience peaked at 154,000.
Nine’s Jump-in app continues to increase in popularity, with State of Origin fans embracing the unique second screen experience it offers. The multi-camera-angle replay feature was heavily used last night, with total visits rising 10 per cent from Origin II and iPhone use up by 134 per cent. The total aggregated time spent on Jump-in nearly doubled from Origin II, with the equivalent of 483 days of activity – 11,600 hours.
The spectator pitch invasion was the most popular Jump-in video highlight for Origin III. However, the infamous Paul Gallen punch on Nate Myles in game one remains the most viewed Jump -in highlight for the 2013 series.