The Jillaroos' 40-0 win over Samoa drew 41,000 more free-to-air viewers than the Bledisloe Cup, while the Wallaroos' match against Scotland attracted 123,000.
The women's results accompanied a strong start for the Rugby League World Cup, whose matches outdrew rugby union's major Wallabies-All Blacks fixture.
A rugby league fixture reached 2.3 million viewers, and the Kangaroos' game against the Kiwis had an audience of 1.73 million and a total reach of 3.29 million.
All reported figures cover free-to-air television and exclude streaming.
The numbers mark a change from the 2017 World Cup, when no match without the Kangaroos drew more than 500,000 viewers.
This is the first tournament since the tiered-nation system was abandoned, giving the NRL a chance to build interest beyond traditional international heavyweights.
Growing the international game is a key part of the NRL Commission's long-term strategy, driven by ARLC executive chairman Peter V'landys.
"The Commission's strategy to bring back international rugby league is now paying dividends with the fans lapping up the World Cup," V'landys told The Daily Telegraph.
"The changes we made to State of Origin is now delivering."