TLDR
Seven's Rugby League World Cup semi-finals drew a combined reach of 6.5 million people across 7 and 8 November, with Australia's win over Samoa pulling the larger crowd. A Kangaroos-versus-Kiwis final in Brisbane on Sunday follows, as the network's TV revenue tracks below a softening market.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What the numbers delivered
Australia's Sunday-night win over Samoa at Allianz Stadium drew a reach of 3.7 million people and a national average audience of 2.1 million, according to B&T's weekend ratings report.[10] New Zealand's 34-10 win over Tonga in Newcastle on the Saturday reached 2.9 million, with an average audience of 1.5 million.[10] Across both nights the combined reach was 6.5 million people.
Both matches were live and exclusive to Seven and 7plus in Australia. [3] The final is at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday at 7.35pm AEDT, a repeat of the 2013, 2008 and 2000 World Cup finals.[8]
Seven's commercial position
Seven told its annual general meeting, held days before the semi-finals, that first-quarter TV revenue in FY27 was down in a market running at mid-single-digit declines. [4] That followed a first-half FY26 period where total TV revenue share reached 44.1% and revenue fell 0.8% in a market that dropped 10.1%. [5] Seven's full-year result in June disclosed that TV conditions had deteriorated materially in the fourth quarter. [6]
The Pacific story behind the numbers
The Rugby League World Cup 2026 semi-finals wrap described Tonga and Samoa as bringing "so much passion and colour" to the tournament before exiting at the last four. [8] Australia's win was played in front of 41,259 fans at Allianz Stadium.[1]
What comes next for Seven
Both the Kangaroos and Jillaroos advanced to finals against New Zealand, giving Seven two matches to broadcast, which TV Tonight's David Knox called "a dream result for Seven".[11]
Seven's FY26 annual result showed total TV audience share up 1.1 percentage points through end-May, even as revenue lagged. [6] Whether the 6.5 million combined semi-final reach converts into ad bookings the market has not yet delivered this quarter is the open question heading into the final.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- Kangaroos find their best to power into the World Cup final
- Ponga supreme as Kiwis surge into final
- Rugby League World Cup 2026 semi-finals official release
- Seven Media Group starts trading as SMG on Tuesday
- Seven H1 FY26 ASX results disclosure
- Seven FY26 annual results ASX disclosure
- Seven Media Group press release: Seven Network in 2027
- The wrap: men's semi-finals, RLWC2026
- B&T, Weekend ratings 6-8 November 2026
- TV Tonight, 2m viewers as Australia scores in Rugby League World Cup
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
