This year, the NRL beat all the odds by being the first professional sport to return to the field since the pandemic hit and, as of the weekend, united close to 3m Australians, along with year on year growth, with the NRL Grand Final. Now, with Origin fast approaching, fans and brands alike are fully realising the true power of live sport on Nine.

Off the back of the year’s biggest weekend in sport, the AFL and NRL Grand Finals have proven fans’ interest in live sport is unrelenting. With nearly 3m viewers turning to Nine for Sunday’s NRL blockbuster, clocking up +60% commercial share across all key demographics and double- digit audience growth year on year, the best of NRL is still to come.

During the early months of the pandemic, the sudden temporary disappearance of live sport left fans and brands alike with a gaping hole in their lives. For fans, the lack of live sport – in particular, the postponed NRL season – took away the solid, reliable structure of the sporting calendar.

Fans’ connection to friends, community and family is inexorably linked to sport, and for those uncertain few months, the loss was all too real. Brands and marketers were similarly at a loss, suddenly facing months without the incredible brand-building connection that only comes from live sport.

But despite all the odds, NRL, NRLW, and the State of Origin series have come back fighting. Rugby League was the first professional sport on the field to return since the pandemic first hit, and the State of Origin is back stronger than ever with critical new COVID-safe rules in place, exclusively on Nine.

The Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues have already been in lockdown camp for weeks, all to prepare for these three games in the most COVID-safe way possible. Fans are gearing up with a renewed appreciation for how it makes them feel to watch their home team, out there, live on the field.

Brands are now realising the true power of live sport, and how it’s entirely different from other content. Many other forms of content encourage viewers to lean back, but with live sport, it’s about leaning in, truly engaging in every second of the match, and being utterly unable to look away.

After the events of this year, fans are keenly aware of how much watching live sport means to them. With 10 million eyeballs across three consecutive weeks, marketers should not sleep on Origin’s incredible opportunity for their brand to be viewed with fresh eyes. Many brands, sponsors and partners have already committed to the series with a heightened awareness of what live sport can do.

Christmas is coming

The consumer consideration period has been pushed back much further this year, as customers continue to face uncertainty from all angles. Thankfully, signs are beginning to point in the right direction, and the focus now is on getting the retail sector back up and running in time for the busiest period of the year.

With the State of Origin pushed back to this critical time period, marketers are facing a unique opportunity to catch consumers in the right place at the right time. The game is suddenly a real option for those brands who may not have considered it in its typical winter time period.

Nothing but three State of Origins can deliver such a mass reach and impact at a single point in time. This year, the game stands on its own with no other footy to compete against it. It’s also being run back to back for the first time, further increasing attention.

With the retail sector opening back up again, the new timing of State of Origin is a huge opportunity for brands in a year where chances like this have been few and far between. If you want to talk to an audience in a family-friendly, brand-safe environment, this is the place to be.

Broadcast and beyond

Broadcast and live sport go hand in hand, but in 2020, Nine’s offering goes far beyond broadcast alone. One of Nine’s big focusses for 2020 was how to bring its Wide World of Sports expertise and coverage to life across all of its assets in a way that provides brands with more opportunities to be seen by fans.

From The Sydney Morning Herald to Nine’s Wide World of Sports, Nine plays where marketers’ customers are. Television, print, radio and digital all work in tandem to provide a cross-platform experience that leaves no stone unturned.

For clients who have a strategic audience objective to put forward, they can now map that to the audience and to the platform to extend their reach, frequency and cut through.

Looking towards 2021

For the 2021 season, the time to start planning is now. The State of Origin has long been Australia’s Superbowl in terms of the audience it attracts, but for 2021, Nine is encouraging Australian marketers to create world-beating ads to match.

Announced in its 2021 Upfront presentation, Nine has revealed a prize of $1m advertising inventory to the brand who can come up with the best commercial booked within the three-game period of State of Origin 2021. A panel will judge the best commercial from advertising booked within the three-game period of State of Origin 2021. The State of Originality will act as a call to arms for marketers and their creative teams to elevate the importance of creativity in delivering results.

After a year filled with unrelenting uncertainty, fans and brands alike are now sure of one thing: live sport matters. For fans, it’s a part of their DNA and an unmissable part of their yearly calendar. For brands, it’s the definitive way to achieve true cut through when they need it the most. As Australia’s home of sport, Nine and Wide World of Sports will be there every step of the way.