Viewer numbers for 2022 NRL Grand Final the lowest on record

Television ratings for last night's NRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels have been reported as being the lowest ever, with 2,367,000 people tuning in to watch the deciding clash of the 2022 rugby league season.

While the Grand Final was watched by a sell out crowd of 82,415 fan at Sydney's Accor Stadium, the match proved a ratings flop, with historically low numbers tuning in to see the Penrith Panthers achieve back-to-back Premierships with a comprehensive victory over the Parramatta Eels.

According to MediaWeek, 2,367,000 fans tuned in nationally for the one-sided match, making it the smallest NRL Grand Final television audience ever recorded.

It marks the first time the overall television audience for an NRL season finale has dipped below 2.5 million viewers in the history of OzTam ratings data.

These numbers are substantially lower than 2020 and 2021, when most of Australia was stuck in lockdown, but also the 2019 Grand Final between the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders.

Only 252,000 people tuned in from Melbourne, the second-lowest viewership from the Victorian capital since 2000.

The numbers for other metro markets were 391,000 in Brisbane, 77,000 in Adelaide and 114,000 in Perth, according to MediaWeek.

However, it was one of the largest Sydney TV audiences of the year, with 837,000 people watching from the NSW capital.

The match received 389,000 viewers on 9Now, making it the highest streamed NRL grand final in history.

Returning to the MCG after a two-year absence due to the pandemic, yesterday’s AFL Grand Final was played in front of a crowd of 100,024 fans - the largest attendance since 1971.

Last weekend's AFL Grand Final at the MCG also saw a dip in ratings, with 2.18 million viewers in capital cities and 2.96 million viewers nationally and 95,000 viewers on streaming platforms.

By contrast, last year’s decider between in Perth pulled in 3.006 metro million viewers, while the 2020 season finale in Brisbane attracted ratings of 2.979 million.

The NSW Government has advised that an estimated 31,000 visitors made the trip to NSW to watch the NRL Grand Final, injecting $18 million into our economy, with the majority spent in the western Sydney region including on accommodation, hospitality and entertainment.

Image: Accor Stadium during last night's NRL Grand Final. Credit: Arthur Stanley/VenuesLive.