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2022 NRL Grand Final Ratings Lowest In History

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The NRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels has produced the lowest TV ratings in history, with 2,367,000 people tuning in to watch the decider.

Metro audiences made up 1.6 million of the total viewership, while regional audiences reached 700,000.

Streaming numbers for 9Now are yet to be announced, with the previous years’ linear numbers comparing as follows:

  • 2021: 3,596,000 (Metro 2,202,000 Regional 1,031,000)
  • 2020: 3,119,000 (Metro 2,103,000 Regional 863,000)
  • 2019: 2,725,000 (Metro 1,866,000 Regional 775,000)

Although the Sydney audiences were still down from the previous year, they weren’t at the lowest, with 837,000 tuning into the game.

Elsewhere, Melbourne recorded its second smallest NRL Grand Final viewership with 252,000, while Brisbane had 391,000, Adelaide 77,000 and Perth 114,000 people tuning in.

Match coverage also led all three key demographics, with 438,000 tuning in between 16-39, 664,000 between 18-49 and 745,000 between 25-54.

Additionally, 342,000 people from metropolitan areas tuned in to watch the NRLW Grand Final, with Sydney leading the way with 197,000 viewers.

Brisbane came in second with 101,000 and Melbourne in third, reaching 25,000 people in viewership.

Despite record lows for TV audiences, streaming numbers for the NRL Grand Final saw a 7% YoY increase to 389,000, while the NRLW Grand Final saw a 197% increase in streaming viewership compared to the 2020 decider.

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