In Australia last night, more households tuned in to watch Women’s sport over Mens.
Can we just let that sink in for a moment? And I need to repeat it again. Women’s sport rated higher on a Thursday night in April than Men’s sport.
The Women’s NRL State of Origin on Channel Nine attracted 980,000 viewers in National TV Audience last night, up on the 927,000 it rated last year. The men’s AFL (Collingwood v Hawthorn) had 768,000 on Channel Seven.
After seeing those numbers, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Why? Because female athletes across every code have had to fight (and are still fighting) for equal pay and for air time when it comes to the big broadcasters.
But maybe, just maybe, the tide is changing.
The old boring cry of “nobody wants to watch Women’s sport” just doesn’t stand up anymore. Audiences DO want to watch women’s sport, and last night showed that they are doing just that.
It’s been refreshing to see Free To Air and streaming services get behind women’s sport in a big way, and not afraid to put them on the main stage when it comes to key programming times.
“Women’s state of origin is the shining moment for the code and we are extremely proud to be the exclusive broadcaster,” a Channel Nine spokesperson told TV WEEK, reflecting on the success.
“Every year the series grows in viewership and last night was no different, we saw an increase of 52 per cent on 9Now YoY and it set a new record for the highest rated women’s rugby league match in history for 9now, up 42 per cent on previous figure from 2025.”
Olympic Gold Medallist Libby Trickett, and co-host of the Sportish podcast is also celebrating the achievement of women’s sport cementing its place on the national and international stage.
“We’re seeing time and again that women’s sport is very popular and people just want to watch entertaining contests like we saw last night,” Libby tells TV WEEK.
“It’s amazing that everyone can watch it, listen to it and read about it so easily these days and it’s going a long way to inspiring the next generation. And for me, seeing some of the special moments between the players and the fans is the best part.”
Lets not forget that it was only three years ago that The Matildas smashed TV ratings records in Australia, with a national TV audience of over seven million watching the Aussies in the World Cup semi-final against England.
Why does this matter? Because for young girls across the country thinking about kicking a footy or joining a local netball club they are seeing what is possible. It’s a cliché for a reason but it needs repeating – you can’t be what you can’t see.
And it’s already having an impact on the next generation, a fellow staff member’s nine-year-old daughter was glued to the success of The Matilda’s recent Asian Cup campaign, and innocently asked her mum, “Is there a boy version of the Matildas?”
As a mum of two small girls, I am constantly telling them that they can be whatever they want to be, so it’s these small wins on a Thursday night that gives me hope that they will be growing up in a world where that will ring true.
