With the valuable addition of free-to-air broadcasting to the A-League’s already growing media footprint, it appears the war to win viewers has already begun.
This ratings war is not against traditional Friday night ratings winners in the AFL, NRL or “Better Homes and Gardens” but, in fact, between A-League clubs themselves.
Since the announcement of a free-to-air Friday night match to be televised on SBS from next season, clubs have been queuing up to increase their own brand’s exposure.
Speaking on the issue, Melbourne Victory Chairman Anthony Di Pietro backed his club to be heavily involved in the FFA’s free-to-air strategy.
“We’ve got the highest ratings on the Friday night,” Di Petro stated.
Melbourne Victory’s case is strengthened by their prominence in the A-League’s television ratings records, featuring in 10 of the top 10 highest rating matches ever up until the inclusion of Alessandro Del Piero at Sydney FC.
It appears teams based in smaller markets, namely Central Coast and Newcastle, are unlikely to share equal television exposure as the current Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne based clubs.
Sydney and Melbourne are Australian television’s two biggest markets, however Brisbane Roar was, according to recent statistics published by The Australian, the A-League’s most watched club.
It is clear that A-League competition never stops once the final whistle is blown with clubs set to compete during the off-season for lucrative TV time.
Ian
Guest
variety ............please.
Chop
Guest
the way MVFC are playing I would consider that a blessing....
Chris
Guest
If the NRL has taught us anything it will be St George and Brisbane every single bloody game. So Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory I guess.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
My cousins are from Auckland and they support the Phoenix. They always get a decent crowd when they share games around the country so until a 2nd NZ team comes in I think they have the NZ pro soccer fan niche market completely sewn up.
Ian
Guest
cheers. yes it is a great effort.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Here http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/afl-a-league-big-winners-in-football-report-after-viewers-switch-off-rugby/story-e6frg6n6-1226525246762 It's near the bottom of the article. It's total ratings though, not per game, so it's largely due to the fact that they played finals while the other "big" clubs like SFC and MV didn't. It's still a great effort by the Roar though
Matt F
Roar Guru
NZ deal will be a seperate deal, though it's almost certain to be on Pay TV. They don't have an anti-siphoning list and I'm pretty sure that their major sports like Union, League and Cricket are all Pay TV over there (would love confirmation)
nordster
Guest
Not as a comparison to AFL...they arent a factor in my thinking....dont get all jumpy :) football is "entitled" to its loot in so far as other sports are. Im saying as a general principle govt funding is undesirable from a role of govt perspective....and in order for football to pays its own way and not having to jump to the tune of whichever statist is holding the reigns...populist dumbocracy runs in cycles...best for the game to aim to be more in charge of its own destiny... An SBS deal is in effect tax theft funded :) ...though my point was less so given the strengths football has in the private sector, and sbs's part commercial structure.
Kasey
Guest
nordster you are freaking kidding me? You think football is a little too reliant on the govt?? The AFL is on the govt teat(especially for facilities) like no other sport and their turnover dwarfs football
The Kebab Connoisseur
Guest
Shame we have to wait until next season for this. Stuck having to watch MVFC matches on those dodgy streams.
The Kebab Connoisseur
Guest
Providing the expat is from Wellington or it is a moot point. Phoenix is a Welly team, not the national team.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
On Wellington, does the agreement include FTA in NZ? If so, does the New Zealand FTA match have to be the same as the SBS one? Not having Fox, or a club (being a Tasmanian living in Canberra) I would want to see a good mix of all clubs. Fox would presumably prefer that smaller clubs get the FTA games and SBS are not a huge ratings earner at the best of times, nor as commercially driven as the privately owned networks. The A-League is not subject to the same laws as the AFL and NRL where some of "the best" games must, by law, be on FTA.
Andyroo
Guest
I don't think Fox would be happy to concede all the good games and I wouldn't be surprised if we only see 1 of each of the Melbourne and Sydney derbies as teasers on FTA.
Ian
Guest
anyone have a link to the article quoted in this story about ratings for clubs i.e Brisbane Roar having high ratings on fox? can't find it on the Australian by searching for it.
Ian
Guest
you have to be careful of not just picking Melbourne or Sydney for every game. having high ratings is definitley important. but having some exposure for other clubs is important for interaction with fans in other states - Glory and Reds, and markets like the CCM,Jets and Wellington. as a Roar fan i would expect a few of their games to be included no doubt, but the FTA will have some impact, not sure how much, on gate numbers. hey i'd love a handful of away Brisbane games to be included in a perfect world as i don't have fox. though in the end ratings are likely to be the deciding factor. anyway its a win to have a friday night game for the A-League on FTA.
oly09
Guest
The FTA matches need to be used to expose more people to the A-League, which means it needs to be unfair in a way to ensure the best matches (or best atmosphere matches) are on SBS. So the three Melbourne and Sydney derbies need to be on SBS. It would also be good if the FFA could be flexible with the draw. So if the Newcastle-Adelaide game was looking to be the top game of the round then the draw could be changed (say four weeks in advance) to move the game to Friday night.
Dave
Guest
As an SFC season ticket holder and non foxtel subscriber I hope Sydney play every away game on the Friday night and every home game on a Saturday evening/Sunday arvo (preferably Saturday).
nordster
Guest
For me an issue is where the SBS component is being funded from. The game is a little too much on the govt teat for my liking in general...its problematic on a number of levels...the SBS deal is an extension of that. The broadcaster though being part private funded has the opportunity to turn the a-league into the new cycling from their perspective. And good timing too...i say that respectfully as a two wheel fan also...but yes the stench will linger for a little while yet. Football has plenty of allies in the corporate sector and the sbs deal allows them the chance to engage further with the game and more importantly the domestic league..but on a more mass market level. And also outside the deals Fox has...no doubt there are competitiors to sponsors on foxtel and the leagues exclusive deals who may want to jump on board. As far as how it rates up against other networks, sbs has always managed to attract football fans at all hours of the day and night in suprisingly strong numbers. Given the aleague has done the ground work for eight years, its established itself among football diehards and the timing to convert that is pretty good youd have to say. Pent up demand perhaps...
TC
Guest
Don't forget that a lot of New Zealanders live in Australia, and they are spread out, so there will be much merit in televising as many Nix games as the FFA can organise. TC
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
If the FTA game will always be on a Friday night this will pose a conundrum for Sydney FC. This year on Fox Sports they have regularly (always?) been the highest rating game. Which would suggest there is some logic behind scheduling SFC a fair amount on FTA. However the Sky Blues struggle to pull a decent home crowd on Friday nights. And if the game is on FTA that may drag the crowd figure even further down. So what ends up being more important - bums on seats at the game or eyeballs on the screen at home?