A peak audience in excess of 2.5 million tuned in to see the Queensland XXXX Maroons win the 2008 Harvey Norman State of Origin series for the third year in a row, beating the NSW Wizard Blues 16-10.

An average 2.144 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.

The 2008 Origin series has been a record-breaker for Nine, with the audience of each game increasing throughout the series (Game I - 2.092 million, Game II - 2.096 million, Game III - 2.144 million). This State of Origin series now occupies the three highest rating programs for Total People for survey to date in 2008.

In Sydney, the game attracted a peak audience of 1.077 million for Total People and was the night's number one program with an average of 912,000 viewers - 56.6 per cent of the audience. In the advertiser-preferred 25-54 demographic the match peaked at 527,000, with an average of 423,000 viewers, also the night's number one.

In Brisbane, Nine's coverage drew a peak audience of 799,000 for Total People, with the game averaging 705,000 - a staggering 64.5 per cent of the audience. In the 25-54s, the game attracted a peak of 393,000 and averaged 350,000.

In Melbourne, the match drew a peak Total People audience of 451,000 with an average of 332,000. The NRL event attracted a peak viewing of 275,000 and an average of 191,000 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,
along the East Coast, in Sydney and Brisbane.

Nine took out the night across the 5 City Metro for Total People with a 35.0 per cent share and also along the East Coast for Total People with 38.6 per cent.

Last night in Sydney Nine had a resounding victory with a 43.1 per cent share in Total People, ahead of Seven (20. the ABC (17.3) and Ten (14.6). In People 25-54 Nine achieved a 42.2 per cent share, ahead of Seven (19.3) and Ten (17.7).

In Brisbane, Nine's massive share of 50.4 per cent of Total People was well ahead of Seven (19., the ABC (14.4) and Ten (10.9). Nine also recorded a win for the night in People 25-54 with a 53.0 per cent share, ahead of Seven (18.6) and Ten (13.5).