The NRL and AFL have continued to record strong TV ratings this season, but Super Rugby and the A-League finals have struggled.
On Friday (March 30) Seven’s AFL match was watched by a metro total people audience of 745,000 on free-to-air TV, while Nine’s Friday night NRL was watched by 631,000. Seven’s pre-match coverage also received 516,000 viewers and its post-match coverage was watched by 427,000.
On pay TV on Friday the Hawthorn vs Collingwood match picked up 267,000 national (metro and regional) viewers.
On Saturday (March 31) on free-to-air Seven’s AFL game received 635,000 viewers, with its pre-match coverage getting 317,000 and post-match coverage 544,000.
On pay TV on Saturday the highest rating program was the Eels vs Manly NRL clash (266,000 national viewers), followed by the Panthers vs Sharks (256,000) and then the AFL’s Gold Coast vs Adelaide (211,000), North Melbourne vs Essendon (209,000) and Melbourne v Lions (192,000).
On Sunday (April 1) on free-to-air Nine’s NRL match was watched by 581,000 metro viewers. There are no pay TV numbers available for Sunday at this time.
Both the AFL and NRL have been strong on both pay and free-to-air TV platforms this year, which is why both sports enjoy the largest broadcast deals. Monday night NRL continues to rate very well on Fox Sports, making it an attractive prospect for potential free-to-air partners.
No Super Rugby game or A-League match was watched by more than 130,000 national viewers on pay TV over the pas week, a disappointing result for both codes no matter which way you look at it. Super Rugby TV ratings have been poor in 2012, no withstanding its success in 2011 on the back of the Rugby World Cup and Queensland Reds.
A-League figures have also been poor compared to the other sports, though overall there has been an increase in viewers. Whether this is enough to get an increase on its $40 million TV deal, especially with only nine teams, it remains to be seen. The A-League desperately needs free-to-air TV coverage.
Steve.H
Guest
None of those results say that its doing poorly, it just says that super rugby and a league isn't as popular as AFL and NRL- Which is a no brainer. You have to compare Super Rugby viewership year on year to get the idea if Super Rugby is in decline in Australia. Very Superficial article
Steve.H
Guest
Yes But When SANZAR negotiates its next deal with NEWS Corp. they take all three TV ratings and then get a deal based on that. Plus lets be honest rugby is a niche sport in Australia, so one must compare Rugbys ratings to previous years to see if it is in decline or if it is increasing or decreasing. This article is just inflammatory and biased, not very well researched.
Steve.H
Guest
Steve.H
Guest
No its not, Super Rugby is only on Pay TV. Actually the majority of Sport in South Africa is on Pay TV, (I'm South African) Plus If the ratings in two of the three countries is on the up the next broadcast deal will go up because SANZAR sells its package as a single unit and then divides it equally. This will help Australian Rugby.
MFB1991
Guest
Ok, so you've shrunk your claim down from world broadcast rights to a comparison to European soccer. A cursory glance reveals that individual clubs in Italy and Spain negotiate their own rights deals and infact many of these clubs individually get more than the entire AFL competition does. Even your watered down comparison is a wild exaggeration. With respect, you might need to do a bit more work on your wish to contain that hint of triumphalism, the AFL is doing well enough without having to resort to falsehoods.
Ted Skinner
Guest
Rubbish, complete rubbish. It's been explained many times before that any over lapping areas(called the spill) are taken into account when the Australia-wide numbers are computed.
Pete
Guest
You mean the double counting that is specifically excluded when the ratings are consolidated? Amazing to still see this lie still getting trotted out when every press release by thinktv on the topic dispells it!
Titus
Guest
Exactly Norm--nothing to do with ratings at all, although being on FTA does enhance your ratings.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Nathan precisely - but to point out the obvious can get you a lot of abuse - so it's a discussion best left alone.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
I understand the bit about a large global audence, but it's the NFL and AFL that manage to live within their means (sometimes only just). The Bundesliga clubs also all manage to live within their means, and do a good job of balancing quality, interest and making ends meet. The Premier League, on the other hand...the numbers are huge, and that includes the debt levels. And then there is La Liga, hugely popular, with two of the best known clubs in the world, but I'm often amazed at how little fans know about the financial woes that even beset these clubs. This is an article in the Independent about the huge tax debts the Spanish clubs are currently carrying, and spanish authorities are seriously considering excusing it all, much to the chagrin of the EU countries that bailed Spain out. It's worth a read: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sam-wallace-spanish-clubs-unpaid-tax-bills-are-a-disgrace--and-a-warning-to-all-7576759.html
Titus
Guest
Its pretty simple economics really TC, the global Football audience is large, huge, the global NFL and AFL audience is small, in the case of the AFL tiny, these leagues have comparably large TV deals but are not going to be able to grow their audience, yet will continually expect to grow their TV deal. Football's audience will grow, immensely.
Norm
Guest
AFL is on TV in Sydney because it is in the TV rights deal
The Cattery
Roar Guru
I did have a vague recollection of the Super 12s being on FTA back in its day.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Interesting article - but not overly convinced - to me it still sounds a bit like the tech bubble - the huge debt is only worthwhile if there's someone else interested in coming along prepared to pay extra - not sure about that as a business model.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Yeah, the Free-To-Air channel's marketing site sounds like a great place for unadulterated numbers...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Yes - you're right - I was never very good at currency exchanges. Turkey has a large economy (15th largest economy in the world, ahead of Australia in terms of purchasing power parity) and a strong league, so that's still pretty good. The Greek rights are relatively low, even allowing for a couple of clubs mising, and the Portuguese rights are worth peanuts, in all honesty.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
We're starting to close in on the tail end of the NHL team revenues. Collingwood has overtaken the Islanders if I recall correctly, though that's not a huge feat these days. Sigh, my poor old Islanders.
Titus
Guest
For anyone interested http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6382316/english-premier-league-american-apple-pie
The Cattery
Roar Guru
I was once offered the job as the Executive Director of the Department of Inconsequential Acts.
Crashy
Guest
Robbo - the Super 12 used to be shown later at night on Channel 7. Murdoch put so many restrictions on channel 7 that they did not renew. As for the 'odd test on FTA' are you serious? Every Wallabies test is on FTA........