State of Origin gives everything else on television the boot

State of Origin, Game One: NSW lose 16-10 to Queensland and 2.51 million watch — about 200,000 less than the big win by NSW a year ago (50-6), which was watched by 2.7 million and played in Townsville in the depths of a COVID lockdown.

The relative isolation and lockdown helped boost the audience. Last night’s first game of the series was the first “norm” game since 2019. The 2.5 million was OK, but should have been higher if the concept has the grip on rugby league fans the media claims. The metro audience was 1.77 million, down from 1.9 million a year ago, and regional viewers totalled 741,000 — down from 797,000 a year ago. The Sydney audience last night was 736,000 and the Brisbane audience 625,000, both weaker than a year go — as was the 222,000 in Melbourne.

Nine obviously won the night and will boast about the figures; total people share was 47.6% against 43.3% a year ago. Great win for Queensland, and for Nine, but it would have expected more viewers. With star players out of the NSW side, there was always a feeling the game could be close or a loss. Did that keep NSW fans away? Not from the Olympic Stadium in Sydney where it was a sell-out.

Elsewhere, Gruen on the ABC, 679,000; The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (which followed), 631,000. Both did a lot better than MasterChef Australia on Ten — 574,000 — and Big Brother on Seven, 416,000.

Network channel share:

1. Nine (47.6%)
2. Seven (18.8%)
3. Ten, ABC (13.9%)
4. SBS (5.81%)

Network main channels:

1. Nine (40.0%)
2. Seven (13.3%)
3. ABC (10.4%)
4. Ten (9.0%)
5. SBS ONE (3.1%)

Top 5 digital channels: 

1. Gem (2.9%)
2. 7TWO (2.8%)
3. 10 Peach (2.4%)
4. 10 Bold (2.1%)
5. GO (1.9%)

Top 10 national programs:

1. Origin Game 1 (Nine) — 2.512 million
2. Seven News — 1.545 million
3. Seven News 6.30 — 1.456 million
4. Origin 1, pre-match (Nine) — 1.446 million
5. Nine News — 1.176 million
6. Nine News 6.30 — 1.160 million
7. 7pm ABC News — 930,000
8. The Chase Australia 5.30pm (Seven) — 913,000
9. Origin 1, post-match (Nine) — 885,000
10. Home and Away (Seven) — 737,000

Top metro programs: Origin 1 (Nine) — 1.771 million.

Losers: No one, not even Big Brother — Origin 1 too big.

Regional top 5: Origin 1, 741,000; Seven News, 576,000; Seven News 6.30, 529,000; Origin pre-match, 463,000; The Chase Australia 5.30pm, 352,000.

Metro news and current affairs:

1. Seven News — 968,000
2. Seven News 6.30 — 927,000
3. Nine News— 864,000
4. Nine News 6.30 — 843,000
5. 7pm ABC News — 599,000
6. 7.30 (ABC) — 489,000
7. The Project 7pm (Ten) — 404,000
8. Ten News First — 255,000
9. The Project 6.30pm (Ten) — 257,000
10. SBS World News — 157,000

Morning (national) TV:

1. Sunrise (Seven) — 391,000/235,000
2. Today (Nine) — 290,000/191,000
3. ABC News Breakfast (ABC) — 277,000/165,000
4. ABC News Mornings — 268,000
5. The Morning Show (Seven) — 209,000
6. Today Extra (Nine) — 157,000
7. Studio 10 (Ten) — 48,000

Top 5 pay TV programs:

1. Origin Footy on Fox (Fox League) — 65,000
2. Credlin (Sky News) — 62,000
3. The Bolt Report (Sky News) — 54,000
4. Paul Murray Live (Sky News) — 51,000
5. The Kenny Report (Sky News) — 42,000