How to take Australia's game to the world

So what I say is correct - NRL is down about as much as the Swans on FTA in Sydney. Wookie is usually correct, so they probably did beat the Swans once on FTA. Still no word on the downward participation of league in Sydney.

@clipper Wookie gets his information from Media week so it's an authoritative source and he doing a great job.. @MediaweekAUS The Swans have not got near 50k in Sydney. The Storm have in Melbourne when playing on FTA. "The 5k in Perth is not a good sign if they want to expand out there!" If Perth had a NRL teams then the ratings would be a worry but they don't have a team so why would they care about watching Storm v Broncos at 4.30pm in the arvo on a weekday. "You’ll find the FTA figures for NRL have dropped about that much in Sydney as well so far this year." AFL in Sydney is down 23% on FTA. NRL is down 16% on FTA and up on FoxLeague.

Wookie is an AFL supported who posts on here, not an authoritative source, don't know where he got those figures from. I'm not saying it's wrong, just like a direct source for this one off occurrence - the 5k in Perth is not a good sign if they want to expand out there! You'll find the FTA figures for NRL have dropped about that much in Sydney as well so far this year.

@clipper "Can’t find that figure you mention anywhere – is there a source? Is it like your other rubbery calculations? You will note I said ‘continually’ – has this occurred?" LOL wrong again!!!! POSTED BY: THE_WOOKIE MARCH 20, 2017 Thu TV #NRL Nine/9Gem 904k Metro 554k (Syd 252k Bri 238k Mel 50k Ade 8k Per 5k) Regional 350k (Qld 149k Northern NSW 98k Southern NSW 84k) http://www.footyindustry.com/?p=3464 Now go find me one Swans game that has beaten the Storm on FTA? TV rating on FTA for AFL in Sydney have dropped by 23%!!! AFL could be the new Rugby Union in NSW!!!!

Slane explains well the pitfalls of your argument. EPL still manages to sell out most of their games. You might find that TV audiences are falling as well. Has there been any day this season when the NRL has out rated the AFL on FTA - the most recent where the NRL have even made the top 20 was on Good Friday 522k to 407k - remembering that, as we are continually reminded, NSW and QLD make up the majority of the population. Can't find that figure you mention anywhere - is there a source? Is it like your other rubbery calculations? You will note I said 'continually' - has this occurred?

@ clipper One country? You mean one State "Victoria". they would beat every Australian state put together and they did 10 years ago. Rugby League is so far ahead of the VFL it not funny!! The 2017 Rugby League world cup played in 3 counties Papua new guinea, New Zealand and all over Australia will make millions on dollars this year and there is a great change 3 or 4 countries could win it. VFL a global JOKE!!!!

@ Clipper The AFL is a joke in Canberra you don't have a team and the only people who go are expats Vics looking for a hit of aerial ping pong.

Craigo, you are making a classic NRL fan blunder. There is a reason why the AFL media deal is only 30-40% of the AFL's yearly revenue and the NRL's media deal is almost 80% of their yearly revenue. Every person who attends a game of football is worth 3 people who.are watching at home. Ticket sales and memberships are legitimate forms of revenue raising and are one of the main reasons why the AFL makes so much more money than the other codes.

@Clipper Don't you see crowds have nothing to do with popularity of a sport anymore. Crowds for all sports around the world are dropping nothing can stop that. Thats why Rugby Union and the A-league are a joke in this country. TV viewing is getting so good and will only get better in the future that people can save a small fortune and watch at home or in a pub getting a better view. Sport will always get big crowds for special events but normal home and away matches will suffer in the future. The AFL was getting bigger crowds 2010 then they did in 2016. The A-league has had the biggest participation forever!! but it has never helped it get a big TV following only NRL and AFL get that in their strong holds. I use to love live sport 10 years ago but now I watch at home or in a pub. Thats why NRL/AFL get billions because smart TV people know this. On March 16th the Melbourne Storm v Brisbane rated 50k in Melbourne on a Friday night. The Swans have not rated over 50K this year in Sydney. Look it up. If you don't rate on TV in this country you are dead in the water, just look at Rugby Union.

It's OK Criago, easy to explain - there is no dominant code in Sydney - it's not a requirement. You're mistaking 'most popular' with 'dominant' - easy enough to do, but quite different. You're also downplaying the achievement of the Swans being the most attended team in Sydney - from nothing 30 years ago. It would be like the London Broncos gaining traction when introduced and surpassing Arsenal and Chelsea in attendances in Soccer dominant London- of course they went the other way, but it shows what an amazing feat it was.

Yes, could've worded that better. The Storm have a worse average than any AFL side in Melbourne - not even close to the worst performing side, whereas the Swans are above every NRL side and even GWS is more attended than one NRL side.

Where did say that TV ratings weren't good? I have acknowledged this, but that is only part of the big picture. I notice you didn't mention falling crowds (not as big as easter last year - some people were predicting 50k for the Good Friday game - only got 35k.) I am not an ex pat. I have never lived in VIC, SA or WA - strange as it may seem, as Sydney started to become an all code city, some of the locals actually went to an AFL game. The FTA ratings are down in 2017 and they won't get 4 of the 5 top shows this year as the AO will be in the top 3. Where are the stats that the Storm continually get better TV ratings than the Swans?

"Just because you say so, doesn’t make it a fact." Take your own advice Clipper!! The AFL FTA TV in NSW rating are a joke!!! You know it and I know it. The Melbourne Storm gets better FTA TV ratings in Melbourne the the Swans in Sydney. AFL in Sydney will end up like Rugby Union no one will watch but the Expats like your self. NRL is the KING on FTA TV in NSW and you can't prove me wrong!! Record Club membership 2017 for NSW team!!! Record FTA TV rating 2016 in NSW !!! Record Foxtel rating 2016 in NSW !!! 4 out of the top 5 show in Australia a Rugby League!!! NRL had great crowds over the Easter Weekend because it wasn't pouring rain! I think the AFL got ZERO people as they didn't play a game in Sydney and no one cared going by the record low FTA TV rating!!!

It's the right way to go with 'international cup' when you've got one country that so dominant - league should give it a try - no other country apart from Australia and Kiwis playing in Australia have a hope of winning their world cup and at least they can forgo the farcical eligibility rules. I know this article is a bit of a laugh, but the reality is that around as many in the world play AFL as play league, so really, with a bit of a push and a lot of time, there is a possibility of growth.

9,200 is not half of 13,996, but continue to try and push the NRL averages up.

Just because you say so, doesn't make it a fact. To dominate you need to not only dominate on TV (NRL is definitely not dominant on ABC or SBS, or even 7, the majority of FTA) but need to dominate attendances and participation, neither of which the NRL does - in fact league participation has fallen 27% over the last 16 years - does that sound like domination? Crowds keep falling - does that sound like domination? All the while soccer and AFL are increasing crowds and participation, soccer growing over 63%. Clearly Sydney is an all code city, only a few stubborn NRL people would think otherwise.

Not sure what "like the Storm hasn’t overtaken one AFL side in Melbourne" means exactly: 'overtaken' as in taken control of? Or as in driven past (perhaps in attendances)? Meanwhile, on metro-Sydney's North Shore, there's a mega-disgruntled set of Leaguies deprived of / banished from a spot in the RL competition which they helped to found (after a code-swap) over a century ago; what's more, there is a place for their animal in the AFL zoo. Maybe the AFL can offer them another Corleone-style code-swap? Pssst: just fantasising - don't get overly excited, much less 'outraged', today's default emotion for everything from stubbing a toe through being threatened with GBH to the latest (genuine) global atrocity. And, it seems to me, that M-Storm and M-Victory have, through courtesy and realism, have got themselves respected spots in the Melbourne sports-sphere.

I'd be surprised if you could find 40,000 who only have FTA across the entire country let alone in any single city. PS: Dallas Cowboys are ranked #1 in National Audience but only 15th in their local market. Never seen anyone give two turds about it either. Heck my own team, the NY Giants are ranked 11th nationally and 30th locally despite being in the biggest media market in the US.

@Tricky Just imagine if the NFL had one city in the USA that got 60,000 per match and 400k on FTA. Melbourne is the AFL. Not Australia.

The truth is AFL is a test pattern on FTA TV in NSW.