Harvey Norman and LG Australia appear to have kicked a massive goal last night after the State of Origin Series game sponsored by the big retailer pulled in over 3.9 million TV viewers.LG used the event to promote their new 3D TV technology up against the Smart TV offering from Samsung.
According to TV viewer ratings the NRL have claimed the top two programs of 2011, with Game Two in Sydney last night attracting a massive audience especially in NSW where over 1.3 million people watched the game.
The NSW VB Blues’ thrilling Series leveller, which attracted a peak national audience of 3.944 million viewers, is the highest ever rating Game Two of any Series.
Coming in just behind Origin One (average national audience of 3.502 million), last night’s match is also the fifth highest rating in Origin history.
Across the five capital cities on Wednesday night, Channel Nine’s broadcast drew an average audience of 2.16 million viewers, which peaked at 2.455 million and placed the match as the number one program of the night across the five capital cities as well as the east coast, Sydney and Brisbane.
Another 1.249 million viewers (2010: 1.067 million) tuned in across regional Australia, with a peak audience of 1.488 million.
In Sydney – where a capacity crowd of 81,965 watched the NSW VB Blues deliver a thrilling 18-8 win over the XXXX Queensland Maroons at ANZ Stadium – an average 1.018 million viewers (2010: 952,000) generated a massive 57.2% audience share, with the audience peaking at 1.156 million.
The match also dominated the Brisbane market where an average audience of 775,000 (2010: 854,000) secured the game a huge 63.8% audience share.
In Melbourne, an average 291,000 viewers watched Channel Nine’s live broadcast of the match (2010: 277,000).
“Last night’s game showed why Origin football continues to be a favourite among Australian sports fans,” ARL Chief Executive, Geoff Carr, said today.
“It had everything that people love about the Harvey Norman State of Origin Series, from the rivalry on the field to the passion of the fans and spectacular displays of skill from the game’s best players.
“It certainly set the stage for a thrilling Series decider in three weeks’ time in which fans can no doubt expect more of the unrivalled contest they saw last night.”
