At a time when television networks are seeing their audiences shift toward streaming platforms, news programs continue to draw viewers to Australia’s free-to-air broadcast networks — and some of those networks are even growing their audience.
During the first 13 weeks of this year, Seven Network (also known as “Channel 7”) maintained its leadership position across Australia’s main three broadcast networks, attracting a nightly audience of nearly 836,600 viewers in the key major metropolitan areas like Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. Nine Network (“Channel 9”) came in second, with around 829,500 viewers on a daily basis during the same time period.
Both networks have grown their average audience over the same period logged in 2024, with viewers expressing higher interest in geopolitical events, especially the second non-consecutive term of U.S. President Donald Trump.
While Nine Network’s audience is smaller than Seven Network, the gap is narrowing between the two, and Nine Network’s audience is growing at a faster pace. The audience gap between Seven Network and Nine Network was 48,000 viewers last year; now, it is closer to around 7,000 viewers.
Evening news broadcasts dominate the schedule, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) 7 p.m. drawing the highest audience at 850,000 viewers, a year-over increase of 6.5 percent. Nine Network’s 6 p.m. broadcast increased to 81,000 viewers, up 47 percent, while Seven Network’s broadcast at the same time increased to 51,000 viewers, an increase of 50 percent.
The ABC is Australia’s public service broadcaster, while Nine Network and Seven Network are two of the country’s three commercial broadcasters. Viewership figures for Network 10, owned by Paramount Global, were not readily available, though the broadcaster typically ranks fourth in the overall ratings.
News draws the second-biggest audience to broadcast networks in Australia, with Australian Football League and National Rugby Matches commanding the biggest overall audience on broadcast TV.
