The highest ever television audience for a Game 2 Harvey Norman State of Origin match tuned in to watch Queensland’s historic fourth straight series win last night, with 2.135 million viewers across the five capital cities and a further 1.113 million across regional Australia.
A crowd of 80,459 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium – the fifth largest Origin crowd ever – watched the XXXX Queensland Maroons defeat the NSW Aussie Blues 24-14.
In Sydney, the match attracted an average of 825,000 viewers (2008: 880,000) and a huge 62.1% audience share.
The match also dominated the night in Brisbane, attracting an average audience of 815,000 (2008: 768,000) and an impressive 81% of the audience.
The Melbourne audience again increased on last year with an average audience of 332,000 (2008: 259,000) tuning in to the live match telecast.
“More than three million viewers watched last night’s match and many more will be talking about it today,” ARL Chief Executive, Mr Geoff Carr, said.
“Game 3 in Brisbane is already sold out and, while the series may have been decided, Queensland fans will want to celebrate their historic run of series wins.
“I know NSW will want to spoil that party and Mal Meninga has already made it clear that he wants a clean sweep, so both teams have plenty to play for.”
| Sydney | Brisbane | Melbourne | Adelaide | Perth | Regional NSW, Qld, Vic and Tas |
Match Average | 825,000 | 815,000 | 332,000 | 69,000 | 94,000 | 1,113,120 |
Match Peak | 981,000 | 879,000 | 451,000 | 90,000 | 142,000 | 1,359,160 |
