Seven Network Dominates Ratings with 1.73 Million Viewers for Rugby League World Cup Opener

The Seven Network secured a major ratings victory on Thursday evening, with its live broadcast of the Rugby League World Cup opener between Australia and New Zealand drawing a National TV Audience of 1.73 million viewers.

The closely contested match topped all primetime Thursday viewing, delivering early broadcast momentum for Seven as it kicks off a month-long tournament schedule.

The high-volume audience numbers underscore the strong commercial return on Seven’s broadcast rights acquisition, positioning the network for potential ratings dominance throughout October and November.

Network executives anticipate a halo effect across Seven’s broader evening lineup during the tournament, providing strong audience lead-ins for key commercial properties despite Australia not featuring in every scheduled fixture.

In the surrounding primetime windows, Seven News led the overall evening bulletins with 1.29 million viewers, followed by strong commercial performances from The Chase with 598,000 viewers and Home & Away averaging up to 570,000 viewers across Seven and 7TWO.

Commercial rival Nine Network posted 1.08 million viewers for Nine News, supported by A Current Affair at 771,000 and Tipping Point at 713,000. On Network 10, RBT secured 555,000 viewers, while late-night programming saw Paramedics deliver 442,000 viewers on Nine and the public broadcaster’s ABC News record 840,000 viewers.

The initial ratings surge validates the commercial viability of international rugby league properties on free-to-air television, setting a competitive baseline for domestic network audience shares as the tournament progresses.

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