SBS’s World Cup coverage of the Soceroos historic win over Turkiye swept Sunday ratings, claiming the top three programs and dominating the Top 30 in a remarkable result for the broadcaster.
The Socceroos scored a 2-0 victory, thanks to goals by Nestory Irankunda, Connor Metcalfe, and some outstanding saves by Pattick Beach. The match drew a Total TV National Reach of 4,783,000 and an average audience of 3,035,000, making it the second largest TV audience of the year after Nine’s State of Origin I fixture.
The pre-match coverage ranked third with a national reach of 2,599,000 and an average audience of 1,070,000, while the post-match landed second with a national reach of 2,893,000 and an average audience 1,545,000 average audience.
SBS’s World Cup secured several large audiences. Brazil v Morocco ranked seventh with national reach of 1,846,000 and an average audience of 915,000. Haiti v Scotland came in ninth with a national reach of 1,501,000 and an average audience of 782,000. Both their respective post-match programs also featured in the top 30.
SBS placed nine programs in the night’s top 30.
Seven News led the commercial networks at sixth for its new season of Farmer Wants A Wife with a national reach 2,023,000 and an average audience of 916,000. The reality staple delivered a drama-heavy episode three delivering tears, a wrist injury and dinner table meltdowns across multiple farms.
Aside from the World Cup, Sunday afternoon NRL managed to edge out Seven’s AFL coverage in a rare result. Nine’s NRL saw the Wests Tigers go head to head with the Gold Coast Titans with the Tigers winning 36 to 28. It drew a national reach of 1,401,000 and an average audience of 569,000. Seven’s AFL coverage drew a national reach of 1,203,000 and an average audience of 331,000.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS also stole the Saturday night ratings with a national reach of 1,640,000 and an average audience of 803,000 for USA vs Paraguay which saw USA take home one of the first wins of the tournament.
On Friday night, Seven’s AFL coverage won the night for non-news programs landing in third. The Geelong, Gold Coast showdown saw Geelong come out on top with a pretty substantial win delivering a national reach of 1,705,000 and an average audience of 565,000. Nine’s Tipping Point Australia trailed closely behind in fourth with a national reach of 1,428,000 and an average audience of 779,000.
