The 2026 Toyota AFL season was the most watched season ever on DAZN’s Kayo SPORTS, recording consecutive years of audience growth since 2019.
Across the home and away season and inaugural Wildcard Round, fans streamed 8.4 billion minutes of AFL across Kayo Sports, BINGE, Foxtel Go, Foxtel Now, marking eight consecutive years of growth.
Collingwood continued to deliver some of the season’s biggest audiences, featuring in seven of Kayo SPORTS’ eight most-watched AFL matches of the season. Following Collingwood, the second and third most watched teams were Carlton and Hawthorn.
Other audience highlights from the season include:
- Collingwood’s matches against Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs and Geelong - were the three most watched matches of the regular season.
- Kayo SPORTS delivered its highest-rating Gather Round ever, with Hawthorn's clash against the Western Bulldogs the highest rating Gather Round match ever on Kayo SPORTS.
- Round 12 was the most watched regular season round, as first placed Fremantle battled defending premiers Brisbane, Collingwood clashed with the Western Bulldogs and Carlton won a nailbiter against Geelong.
- Round 13, which delivered a historic weekend of close finishes with six games decided by eight points or less, was the second most watched round.
The AFL’s inaugural Wildcard Round saw four teams compete for the final two places in the top eight, delivering 123 million minutes streamed across the weekend. Highlights from the two games include:
- Friday night’s Western Bulldogs v Collingwood clash was the most watched Friday night AFL match on Kayo SPORTS of 2026.
- Saturday night’s blockbuster between Melbourne and Carlton was the most watched match between the two clubs on Kayo SPORTS
- The second-highest performing AFL game and Saturday night match of 2026, behind Hawthorn v Collingwood in Round 23.
- Wildcard Round was the most watched round of the season.
FOX SPORTS Managing Director Steve Crawley said: “This has been another outstanding season for the AFL, and to see consecutive years of streaming growth on Kayo SPORTS is a fantastic result that reflects how fans continue to embrace our coverage.
“With every game available live in 4K Ultra HD, ad-break free during play and backed by our unmatched lineup of world-class commentators, we are continuing to raise the bar for fans. We’re also incredibly proud of the role we play in supporting the continued growth of the game, investing more than $1 billion in sports rights and production every year to help grow Australian sport. As part of DAZN, we can build on our investment with the scale, expertise and innovation of a global sports platform.
“The inaugural Wildcard Round was another huge moment for the game, with two massive nights at the MCG. Now the final eight line-up is locked in, we can’t wait for top eight finals series action to begin.”
Every game of the AFL Finals Series up until the Grand Final will be broadcast LIVE, in 4K and ad-break free during play on Kayo SPORTS and FOXTEL, with dedicated Fox Footy commentary.