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State of Origin game three most watched show of 2017

Despite the swathes of controversial dating shows flooding our TV screens, nothing keeps Australians glued to the couch like a good old fashioned football match. 

Wednesday night's showdown between the Blues and Maroons snared an average audience of 3.652 million people across the country, peaking at around 4.1 million. 

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The impressive figures mean the 2017 State of Origin is the most-watched TV program of the year, beating the Australian Open's mens final by about 40,000 people.

The record was helped by the fact around 550,000 more people tuned in to watch the third game compared to this the same game last year.  

In NSW, around 1 million people tuned in to watch the game. However, about 100,000 switched off the telly in the last 10 minutes or so, probably as a result of the fact it was clear the blues weren't going to even come close to getting their hands on the trophy this year. 

It was a different picture in Queensland. While fewer people watched the game - around 850,000 - most viewers stayed to watched the maroons sail to victory. 

The ratings high follows on from a great week for Nine, with Australian Ninja Warrior slaying its primetime competition and pulling in more than 1 million viewers three nights in a row. 

Rival reality TV show Yummy Mummies, meanwhile, has tanked with fans switching off in droves and Seven admitting the program's ratings are "disappointing".