A peak audience in excess of 2.4 million watched the NSW Wizard Blues win game one of the Harvey Norman State of Origin Series last night, beating the Queensland XXXX Maroons 18-10.

An average 2.092 million viewers (Total People) watched Channel Nine’s exclusive coverage across the 5 City Metro – the highest result for a State Of Origin game since the introduction of OzTam ratings.

In Sydney, the game attracted a peak audience of 983,000 for Total People and was the night’s number one program with an average of 897,000 viewers – 57.4 per cent of the audience. In the advertiser-preferred 25-54 demographic the match peaked at 503,000, with an average of 440,000 viewers, also the night’s number one.

In Brisbane, Nine’s coverage drew a peak audience of 802,000 for Total People, with the game averaging 710,000 – a staggering 63.6 per cent of the audience. In the 25-54s, the game attracted a peak of 399,000 and averaged 342,000.

In Melbourne, the match drew a peak Total People audience of 355,000 with an average of 283,000. The NRL event attracted a peak viewing of 185,000 and an average of 140,000 for People 25-54.

Nationally, Nine’s State of Origin telecast was the night’s most watched program, screened live into Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide and on delay in Perth. State of Origin coverage was Wednesday’s number one across all key demographics in the 5 City Metro, and on the East Coast.

The result drove Nine to a resounding victory for Wednesday night with a 35.6 per cent Total People share in the 5 City Metro and 38.8 per cent on the East Coast.

Last night Nine attracted the biggest share recorded by any station in survey for Sydney this year in Total People with 45.9 per cent, ahead of Seven (20.2) and Ten (15.0). In People 25-54 Nine also achieved the biggest share in survey by any station this year with 47.2 per cent, ahead of Ten (18.5) and Seven (17.1).

In Brisbane, Nine’s massive share of 49.7 per cent of Total People was also the biggest share recorded by any Brisbane station in the 2008 survey, eclipsing both Seven (20. and Ten (13.5). Across People 25-54 Nine again scored the biggest share in survey by any station this year with a 50.8 per cent share, ahead of Seven (21.0) and Ten (15.2).

The next clash, which will see the Maroons desperate to avenge last night’s loss and keep the three-game series alive, is on Wednesday, June 11 at Suncorp Stadium. It will again be shown live and exclusively on Nine from 7.30pm.