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A newspaper report over the weekend has revealed that NRL TV ratings for 2013 have dropped 2.9% compared to the first half of last season, which equates to a decrease of 1.5 million viewers.
Here are some of the timeslots that shows the NRL struggling for ratings compared to the first half of 2012:
Sunday 2pm Fox Sports live: down 12.5%
Monday Night Football on Fox Sports live: down 9.7% (the second consecutive halfway decrease since 2011)
Sunday Football delayed match on Nine: down a whopping 19.8% in Sydney and 15.8% in Brisbane
On a brighter note, there has been an increase in Nine’s live Friday night (7:30pm) match in Sydney (3.5%), and Fox Sports’ live Saturday 7:30pm game (1.7%). The other good news is in the key demographic of 16-39 years old in Sydney, there has been an increase of 15.8%, while crowds at matches have increased to 1.1%.
Meanwhile, Nine has released figures, where there has been an increase of 5.6% with all of it’s night matches.
With an overall ratings drop of 2.9%, or a decrease of 1.5 million viewers, there certainly would be many theories floating around the place as to why the NRL has a decline in TV ratings this year compared 2012.
I remember when the TV deal was struck last year, the NRL got it’s aim of a billion dollar plus deal, but unfortunately many of the timeslots for the matches remained, including the two delayed games, Friday night 9:30pm and Sunday 4pm.
Those delayed matches caused plenty of dismay for many NRL fans.
Here is my opinion why the NRL TV ratings have declined in season 2013.
There are four key reasons why there is loss of 1.5 million viewers.
– Channel Nine’s use of Tom Waterhouse which drew many complaints from NRL fans
– Popular teams like Brisbane, Parramatta, Wests Tigers and St. George-Illawarra are not only struggling, but have been playing some dreadful football.
– Fans hate delayed football matches
– Fans hate Monday night football
With Waterhouse it was bordering on the ridiculous with the amount of exposure that he had. Not only was he at the ground giving the odds before the game and a half time, he was also part of the panel discussion after the game.
Channel Nine certainly don’t know what punters want. In my opinion, Nine has used Waterhouse’s advertising money as in some way to pay off the NRL tv deal.
Nine’s love affair with teams such as Brisbane, Parramatta, Wests Tigers, St.George-Illawarra, Canterbury and South Sydney has been well noted in past, simply because those six teams historically drive the big TV ratings.
However, what happens if some of those teams are struggling for form, like the Brisbane Broncos?
You can’t exactly have the Broncos on every Friday night whether they are in form or are on the ropes. The same goes for the other ‘popular’ teams.
You need to have variety in the scheduling, Give other team a bit of exposure, like Cronulla, Warriors, and Canberra.
As far as the delayed matches are concerned, personally I don’t watch the Friday 9:30pm game. At times, I try to watch it, but at around 10pm I become fatigued. Friday is a work day after all.
I get the feeling many NRL fans feel the same way. The 9:30pm delayed game is a wasted opportunity to maximise ratings.
While with the 4pm Sunday delayed game I probably give it a glance every other week. At the end of the day watching a league game full of ads does destroy the coverage of the game.
With the expolsion of social media in the last five years, along with mobile/tablet devices that have live updated scores, you’re always tempted to find out who won.
When you have ratings decreases of 19.8% in Sydney and 15.8% in Brisbane for a free-to-air game it must be a cause for concern
What is interesting with Monday Night Football is that for the second consecutive year there is a decrease in ratings. Could it be that a show like The Voice has something to do with it?
The Voice has only been on the scene in the last couple of years, the same time frame that the ratings started to decrease from Monday night football.
Ironically, during Nine’s league coverage, they promote The Voice program, which is scheduled for Monday night, the same timeslot that a league game is on.
It is certainly something NRL CEO Dave Smith needs to look into. It is all well an good for Nine to promote their programs during league matches, but they must make sure that Nine’s promoting of programs doesn’t clash with any league games.
Having a Monday night match is out of whack anyway. With the start of a working week, many fans aren’t thinking about football. Maybe have a permanent Sunday night match would be preferable.
Some people blame the 20-round fixed seheduling, which I believe is spin, for the decline in ratings. I think it comes down to poor scheduling of the timeslots. As for Fox Sports’ ratings, if they cheapened their monthly subscription rates maybe, just maybe, Fox could have an increase.
Here is my typical round of matches:
Thursday 7:35pm (Nine, live)
Friday 7:35pm (Nine, live)
Saturday 4pm (Fox, live)
Saturday 6pm (Fox, live)
Saturday 8pm (Fox, live)
Sunday 2pm (Fox, live)
Sunday 4pm (Nine, live)
Sunday 6:30pm (Fox, live)
If the TV networks want to change the scheduling (if it’s possible) as early as next year, I hope it goes close to what I have listed.
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