The Seven Network’s coverage of the 2024 AFL Grand Final reached 6.09 million Australians, becoming the most-watched program of 2024.
That was over a million more viewers than the 2023 Grand Final, which reached a national audience of 4.98 million.
The Grand Final, which saw the Brisbane Lions take the 2024 crown in a 60 point victory over the Sydney Swans, captured a total TV audience of 4.024 million, including 655,000 on 7plus Sport – the biggest ever audience for an AFL match on a streaming platform.
Viewing on 7plus Sport was up 44% on 2023.
This year’s showdown was the most watched AFL Grand Final since 2021 and up more than 20,000 total TV viewers on the 2023 season closer.
The AFL Grand Final now accounts for two of top three programs so far in 2024, with the Grand Final at #1 and AFL Grand Final Presentations at #3 (total TV audience 3.39 million, national reach 5.11 million).
The Grand Final, Presentations, On The Ground and Pre-Match Entertainment were the four most-watched programs in all people, 25 to 54s, 16 to 39s and grocery shoppers on Saturday.
The 2024 Grand Final captured an 89.9% commercial audience share in its timeslot. From 6am to 6pm on Saturday, Seven had an 81.7% audience share. 7plus dominated BVOD viewing on Saturday, with 236.5 million minutes viewed, a 76.7% commercial share of live streaming and a 73.2% commercial BVOD share.
Excluding Saturday’s match, the Final Series reached 8.5 million people, with the two preliminary finals reaching more than 3 million people each.
The AFL Grand Final and the Charles Brownlow Medal five days earlier heralded the arrival of 7plus Sport.
Seven Digital's group MD, Gereurd Roberts, said the record-breaking number of people who watched the AFL Grand Final on 7plus Sport clearly demonstrates how the addition of AFL and cricket to 7plus will forever change the way Australians watch and engage with sport, and create unprecedented opportunities for both clients and agency partners.
“We’ve always said the arrival of AFL and cricket on 7plus would be a defining moment in the digital streaming revolution, and Saturday’s numbers prove that," he said.
"With a massive summer of cricket to come, including five Tests between Australia and India, Australians can now watch every Seven sport, live and free on any device from anywhere in the country, at any time. And the weekend’s Grand Final shows just how important that is to them.”
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