Figures show NRL as Australia's most watched sport of 2018

Heading into the second week of the NRL finals, the sport has announced impressive figures showing that it has been Australia’s most watched football code this season.

The most successful Telstra Premiership season in almost a decade produced an uplift in members, crowds and viewers watching and streaming the game, while the businesses new digital network continued to flourish.

Announcing the success, NRL Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Abdo advised “support for rugby league and the NRL Telstra Premiership has never been stronger.

“We have the closest, most watched sporting competition in Australia.

“A cumulative audience of more than 94 million people tuned in throughout the 2018 regular season, which is a huge endorsement for our fans appetite for our game.”

The result means the NRL is the most watched sport on television in Australia, coupled with an average crowd attendance of 15,000 which is an increase of 2.2% to almost 2.9 million overall.

Growth in crowds and television audiences was supported by digital growth, where streaming numbers have jumped 108% year-on-year, including over 800,000 new NRL account subscribers.

The NRL has capitalised on the growth with the addition of several new commercial partners in Finder, Rebel Sport and Chemist Warehouse.

Abdo added “we’ve been well supported by corporate Australia this year and are looking forward to strengthening these partnerships into the future, whilst also welcoming new partners to the family.”

A successful Telstra Premiership Finals series will round out an impressive year for the code, which also launched its first Holden Women’s State of Origin and the NRL Holden Women’s Premiership.

The Women’s State of Origin reached almost 700,000 fans through Channel Nine alone, whilst the Men’s State of Origin Series took-out three of the top four television events of the year and attracted more than 220,000 fans.

Image: The P.A. People provided communications support for NRL Captains Finals Call at Allianz Stadium on Monday 3rd September. Courtesy of The P.A. People.