Foxtel has recorded its highest ever TV scores for an NRL spherical, after a mega opening to the season which noticed all 4 Queensland groups victorious.
Television audiences have been up 17 per cent in comparison with Round 1 final season, with the Dolphins upset win over the Roosters drawing over 567,000 viewers.
The latest staff within the NRL posted barely greater numbers than their cross-town rivals Brisbane, with 552,000 folks watching the Broncos knock off reigning premiers Penrith – however that was nonetheless a document for a Friday night time recreation.
Watch each recreation of each spherical of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Yet it was the Sharks and Rabbitohs on Saturday night time which produced probably the most viewers in Fox Sports historical past for a daily season NRL recreation, with over 630,000 tuning in.
More than 4.1 million league followers tuned in to the opening spherical on Fox League, placing to mattress any debate over the urge for food for a seventeenth staff.
In reality, the Dolphins’ inaugural match was the community’s highest ever Sunday afternoon recreation.
NRL ROUND 1 MAKES HISTORY ON FOX SPORTS
– Highest-rating spherical throughout Foxtel platforms ever, up 17% year-on-year
– Sharks v Rabbitohs over 630k viewers (#1 NRL common season recreation all-time for Foxtel)
– Dolphins v Roosters over 567k viewers (#1 Sunday arvo NRL common season recreation all-time for Foxtel)
– Panthers v Broncos over 552k viewers (#1 Friday NRL common season recreation all-time for Foxtel)
– Eels v Storm over 546k viewers (#1 opening NRL recreation all-time for Foxtel)
Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany praised NRL boss Peter V’landys for pushing forward with growth within the face of criticism.
“Two years ago Peter V’landys began a groundbreaking push around further expansion in Queensland and this vision was brought to life over the weekend,” Delaney mentioned.
“He believed at the time that extra teams in Queensland would stimulate the total market for NRL in Australia and the extraordinary start of the season for all four Queensland teams puts this vision on track to achieve those goals. Congratulations to Peter and the Commission.
“It takes hard work and extraordinary experience within the clubs to pull off something like that. It’s what the fans been waiting for.
“There have been many team expansions in other sports but they are not always as successful as what we saw on the weekend. It has been fantastic to see Queensland supporters make the most of the opportunity with record audiences across all of our platforms over the weekend
making this the biggest round of NRL on Foxtel and Kayo Sports ever.”
Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett hailed the scores outcome as vindication for the NRL’s growth plan and proof the Broncos’ 25-year monopoly in southeast Queensland is properly and really over.
“The numbers are wonderful, it’s a great result for rugby league,” Bennett informed News Corp.
“I’ve been informed of the figures by our CEO Terry Reader and they are massive, I’m blown away.
“He came under fire at times but he always believed in expansion and this is a great result for the NRL and rugby league in Queensland.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
