TLDR
Brisbane Lions beat Fremantle in the 2026 AFL Grand Final, averaging 4.52 million national TV viewers, up 8% on 2025, and reaching 6.5 million Australians across Seven and 7plus Sport. Streaming on 7plus hit 1.42 million, a 44% rise, making broadcast-only ratings an incomplete measure of the actual audience.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The audience
Brisbane Lions beat Fremantle in the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final on Saturday to win a third straight premiership. OzTAM VOZ Total TV measurement, which combines broadcast ratings with broadcast video on demand (BVOD) data and de-duplicates them into a single all-screen number, put the average national audience at 4.52 million.[1] More than 6.5 million Australians tuned in across the Seven Network and 7plus Sport across the day.
The 4.52 million average sits 8% above the 4.18 million who watched the 2025 Grand Final.[2]
Seven's share of the day
Seven secured an 86% national commercial share from 6am to 6pm on Grand Final Saturday.[4] That result followed the January 2026 merger between Seven West Media and Southern Cross Media Group, which added Southern Cross's regional broadcast footprint to Seven's national network ahead of the AFL season.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said: "The Toyota AFL Grand Final is the greatest day on the Australian sporting calendar and this year fans delivered again, filling the MCG, turning out across Grand Final week and watching in record numbers around the country. The Brisbane and Fremantle final is one of the greatest our game has seen and to have the highest watched Grand Final ever, the number one television program of the year and more than 1.4 million people watching on 7plus is an outstanding result for the game and a credit to our fans, clubs, players, broadcast partners and everyone involved in delivering an unforgettable week."[1]
What a 44% streaming jump means for how AFL inventory is bought
The 7plus Sport streaming audience reached 1.42 million in 2026, up from 985,000 in 2025.[3]
Seven launched live free streaming of every AFL match on 7plus Sport in 2025. Gary O'Keeffe, Seven Network's Head of AFL and Sport Innovation, said: "What an extraordinary weekend of football and a brilliant way to launch into what promises to be a massive AFL Grand Final Week on Seven and 7plus Sport."[5]
For advertisers, the practical point is measurement: OzTAM's VOZ figures count broadcast and 7plus viewing together, so Grand Final packages are now priced on an all-screen audience.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How many people watched the 2026 AFL Grand Final?
How many people streamed the Grand Final on 7plus?
Why do broadcast-only ratings undercount the Grand Final audience?
Xaviery Malinao writes for Prompt the Market on how brands and agencies are adapting to answer engines, drawing on Bushnote's work with clients across search, AI search and content.
