Ratings | Australian Idol sings louder as Grand Finale reaches 1.9 million – Biggest ever season on Seven. and biggest ever episode on 7plus.
After two months, more than 250 contestants and thousands of performances, the 2026 season of the Seven Network’s hit series Australian Idol ended on a high note last night, reaching 1.9 million people across Seven and 7plus.
The second night of the Grand Finale – which saw the crowning of Kesha Oayda as the 2026 winner and the first female Idol since Natalie Gauci in 2007 – had a national total TV audience of 1.09 milllion and was the #1 entertainment program last night in all people, as well as winning its timeslot in all age groups. The audience was up 1% on last year, including a 125% jump on 7plus.
Last night’s episode was the biggest ever for Australian Idol on Seven and the most watched episode since 2009. This year Australian Idol recorded its biggest ever season on Seven.
The first night of the Grand Finale on Monday – in which Kesha, Harlan Goode and Kalani Artis sang their hearts out for Australian Idol glory – reached 1.67 million and scored a national total TV audience of 962,000.
The spectacular Grand Finale included guest stars Vanessa Amorosi, Morgan Evans and Idol alumni Anthony Callea and capped a remarkable season for Australian Idol.
Across the full 2026 season, Australian Idol reached 10.1 million people. This year’s season average total TV audience was 1.08 million, up 1% on 2025.
On 7plus, Australian Idol’s audience this year soared 71% to 281,000.
Seven’s Director of Content, Unscripted, Majella Hay, said:
“Now in its fourth year on Seven, Australian Idol continues to go from strength to strength, engaging millions of people every week on Seven and – increasingly – on 7plus and proving that big scale, live entertainment never goes out of fashion.
“This year’s season was fantastic, with some of the best performances we’ve ever seen. Congratulations to our very deserving winner, Kesha, and to her fellow grand finalists, Harlan and Kalani. And a big thank you to everyone at Seven and Eureka Productions, to our great judges Marcia Hines, Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark, and to our co-hosts Ricki-Lee and Scott Tweddie.”
Seven National Television Sales Director, Katie Finney, said:
“Once again, Australian Idol has proven why it’s one of the most popular shows on TV. This year’s season was the best ever on Seven, providing great family viewing and drawing big, involved audiences week in, week out. Thank you to everyone who worked on Australian Idol this year and to our great sponsors and advertisers.”
Australian Idol is produced for Seven by Eureka Productions. It will return to Seven and 7plus in 2027.
Media Release – Seven
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Ratings | Australian Idol sings louder as Grand Finale reaches 1.9 million
