As Origin returns, fans’ hunger for live sport shows no sign of backing down
This year, the NRL beat all the odds by being the first professional sport to return to the field since the pandemic hit and, as of the weekend, united close to 3m Australians, along with year on year growth, with the NRL Grand Final. Now, with Origin fast approaching, fans and brands alike are fully realising the true power of live sport on Nine.
Off the back of the year’s biggest weekend in sport, the AFL and NRL Grand Finals have proven fans’ interest in live sport is unrelenting. With nearly 3m viewers turning to Nine for Sunday’s NRL blockbuster, clocking up +60% commercial share across all key demographics and double- digit audience growth year on year, the best of NRL is still to come.
During the early months of the pandemic, the sudden temporary disappearance of live sport left fans and brands alike with a gaping hole in their lives. For fans, the lack of live sport – in particular, the postponed NRL season – took away the solid, reliable structure of the sporting calendar.
Fans’ connection to friends, community and family is inexorably linked to sport, and for those uncertain few months, the loss was all too real. Brands and marketers were similarly at a loss, suddenly facing months without the incredible brand-building connection that only comes from live sport.
Nine is Australia’s largest locally owned media company with investments spanning television, video on demand, print, digital, and radio. Nine’s assets include the 9 Television Network, video on demand platform 9Now, talkback radio stations 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, 4BH, 6GT, Magic1278, major mastheads such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, digital properties such as nine.com.au, 9Honey, Pedestrian.TV and CarAdvice, subscription video platform Stan, and majority investments in Domain and Future Women.
