The looming fixturing clash between the first day of the Ashes and the State of Origin decider, the first in history, will not pose a problem for host broadcaster Channel Nine, as its high-definition channel will be home to the cricket for most of the series.

When the series begins on July 8 the origin decider from Suncorp Stadium will be shown on Nine, with the cricket from Cardiff to be shown on GEM. The preference for GEM over Nine's main channel is likely to be welcomed by cricket fans given it will be shown in high-definition, rather than the standard-definition signal of the main channel.

Nine's head of sport, Steve Crawley, said he did not have any frustration that the origin and the Ashes would be competing for viewers.

"Not at all. The bosses now go with the network share, so it's not so much Nine versus GEM. They're all playing for the same side," Crawley said. "It will be hard. I'll be producing the rugby league coverage and it will be hard not to want to watch the second television to watch the Ashes as well . . . I'll just have to iQ it, I guess."

Nine's delight with the ratings achieved in Melbourne in last week's game two of the origin series has cemented its intention to keep the rugby league on its main channel even in AFL-dominated southern markets.