The 2026 State of Origin decider was the highest-rated game in the history of televised interstate rugby league series.
Days after the NRL signed a $5.3 billion broadcast deal – the most lucrative in Australian sporting history – broadcaster Channel Nine revealed another record had been broken.
A total audience of 4.29 million, calculated as the average number of people tuning in at any one time, watched New South Wales stun Queensland to reclaim the Origin Shield on Wednesday night.
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The game surpassed this year’s Origin II, which drew 4.286 million viewers, to become the highest-rated game in 45 iterations of the three-match series.
This year’s figure of 4.29 million represents a 9.2 percent increase over last year’s figure.
A total of 6.032 million viewers watched some part of the match.
Based on total viewership, the match was the highest-rated television program of 2026 and the top program of the night in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
The match was broadcast to approximately 1.685 million viewers, up 70.9% from the same match in 2025.
AARP