Australian football’s grand final between the Brisbane Lions and Fremantle Dockers has become the most-watched in AFL history, with 4.52 million tuning in to commercial broadcaster Seven Network’s coverage of the showpiece game.
The season-ending game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on September 26 was aired across Seven’s linear channel and streaming platform 7plus Sport, and the 4.52 million TV audience marks an 8% increase on last year’s game.
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Meanwhile, 7plus Sport drew 1.42 million viewers, up 44% from the 984,000 that streamed the game in 2025.
The post-match presentations recorded a total TV audience of 3.96 million, up 18%, while the pre-game entertainment drew 1.83 million, up 20%.
Seven’s head of AFL and sport innovation, Gary O’Keeffe, said: “From the opening week of the finals through to an unforgettable, record-breaking grand final, Australians have just enjoyed the greatest AFL finals series ever, and the extraordinary audiences across Seven and 7plus Sport demonstrate just how strongly it captured the nation.
“Week after week, the football delivered – thrilling contests, huge moments, compelling storylines and performances that will be remembered for years to come.”
Seven said its AFL Finals Series, excluding the Grand Final, reached 9.1 million people. Throughout the full season, including Saturday’s match, it reported a reach of 18.5 million and an average total TV audience of 681,000, up 9% on 2025.
Seven Network shares domestic rights to the AFL alongside pay-TV broadcaster Foxtel as part of a broadcast deal running between 2025 and 2031 worth AUD$4.5 billion.
Under its rights package, Seven broadcasts all Friday night games, Thursday night games in the first 15 rounds of the season, and all marquee matches, including Anzac Day, Easter Monday, and the grand final.
Foxtel, meanwhile, holds rights to air every AFL match and event, including exclusive rights to Saturday games for the first eight rounds in Melbourne.
The pair of Australian broadcasters have broadcast AFL since 2012.
The viewership result for Seven comes shortly after the commercial broadcaster announced record-breaking viewership for its coverage of American football’s NFL Melbourne Game 2026, which saw 2.19 million Australians watch its coverage.
The league’s first clash in Australia was played on September 11 in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the San Francisco 49ers beating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7.
The game, shown via Seven’s linear channel and the 7Plus Sport streaming service, drew a national total TV audience of 938,000, making it the most-watched NFL game ever on Seven (including the annual season-ending Super Bowl).
Meanwhile, more than 155,000 people watched the game via 7plus Sport, which also set a record for the streaming platform.
Seven’s coverage of the Melbourne game came as part of the broadcaster’s renewed free-to-air rights package for the 2026 NFL season, with that deal struck at the end of July.
Through the agreement, Seven maintained its NFL coverage through the season, including multiple Sunday night (broadcast Monday in Australia) and Thursday Night Football (broadcast Friday in Australia) games each week, as well as coverage of the post-season playoffs and the iconic Super Bowl.
It also expanded its weekly ancillary magazine show, NFL Tailgate, to twice a week, broadening the range of its coverage.
