The NRL is about to experience what the A-League has been going through all season, namely a sizeable decrease in the number of fans watching it on TV.
There was an interesting tidbit in Danny Weidler’s column in the Sun-Herald yesterday in which he pointed out that 160,000 fewer fans tuned into the Indigenous All Stars game than when it was last played two years ago.
Weidler said it was “too early” to blame “player scandals” as the reason for the decline in numbers, before essentially blaming player scandals for the drop-off.
He might have been better off acknowledging a fact that no doubt has the commercial media spooked – people are no longer watching TV.
Or at least not as much as they used to.
According to Mediaweek’s figures, only 55,000 viewers tuned into Saturday night’s Melbourne derby on Fox Sports.
That’s less than half the number who tuned into the first Melbourne derby last season.
(AAP Image/Daniel Pockett)
Where have all the A-League viewers gone? Probably to their mobile devices.
There’s little doubt the My Football App – which live streams A-League matches – has cut into Fox Sports’ viewership.
But while some regular A-League viewers have invariably cut the cord – and Foxtel’s new streaming service Kayo Sports will further erode their traditional cable subscription base – there’s probably an even more prosaic explanation.
A lot of people simply don’t watch linear television – the so-called ‘appointment TV’ – the way they used to.
Instead, the rise of streaming services like Netflix seems to have changed viewing habits entirely.
Binge-watching scripted TV series has become something of a cultural meme in recent years, particularly among the sort of under-30 demographic the A-League should logically appeal to.
And in transforming viewing habits from ‘watch this show because it’s on now’ to ‘watch this show whenever you want to,’ there’s been a fundamental shift in the way people sit down to consume such content.
So how does that affect live sporting events?
It’s hard to know, although figures suggest there are still plenty of viewers tuning in. Just not as many as there used to be.
And perhaps there’s some merit to the theory that, having grown accustomed to watching shows whenever they want, often on portable devices, some viewers have given up on traditional TV broadcasts altogether.
Is it a surprise commercial television networks didn’t see this coming?
They’ve done their best to try and tack on their own streaming options, but how much is all this hurting their bottom line?
And where does it end? Presumably with a telecommunications provider streaming live coverage of the English Premier League.
But all that means some hard decisions are going to have to be made about A-League coverage sooner rather than later.
Think Fox Sports aren’t hurting? They’ve reportedly threatened to withhold $5 million of TV rights money from Football Federation Australia because expansion club Western United didn’t include the word ‘Melbourne’ in its name.
And while they’ve long been the target of critics annoyed by the fact the A-League is locked away on Pay TV, some fans need a reality check if they think the A-League is going to continue in its current form without TV money.
What happens if Fox Sports decide broadcasting the A-League is no longer commercially viable?
If you believe some fans, those matches would end up being broadcast on the internet ‘for free’.
And those same fans will presumably be filming said matches on their mobile phones and providing commentary down the line at the same time, because industry professionals certainly won’t be doing so unless they get paid.
But that’s very much where the so-called gig economy is taking us – we all have the freedom to chase our dreams, just as long as we’ve got a day job to pay for it.
Meanwhile, streaming has fractured the live TV sports market.
We’re expected to believe that’s a good thing, but time will tell whether it works out that way in the long run.
Freddie
Guest
Fully professional football in Australia is less than 15 years old. In that time, crowds (although they have dipped in recent times), are not that far behind Rugby League, and all on the back of around a fifth of the publicity. Yes, many people still follow overseas teams and leagues (and will continue to do so), but this is a strength of the game. Future generations will have grown up with the A-League, and that support will become inter-generational, as it is with the other sports. We started from ground zero with new clubs in 2005 (whether that was the right thing to do is another argument), but in thirty years time, so long as the clubs are still around, they will be well established. You can't hurry history. At the moment, the other codes are fighting very hard (understandably) to stop football's growth. They know only too well its potential. They are having some short-term success, but eventually it will break through. Look at all the demographic, economic and cultural indicators. They are all in favour of football long-term. That doesn't mean League or AFL will die. But they will have to re-adjust to a slightly different market place.
clipper
Roar Rookie
By that reasoning Rugby league should be under the Rugby Union umbrella - after all it was founded by disgruntled Rugby players. Wasn't Aussie Rules founded by a Rugby player as a way of keeping fit during summer - perhaps that should be under the Rugby banner as well!
Bruiser
Roar Rookie
Renegades won dude )
clipper
Roar Rookie
Interestingly the were both broadcast on 10 - perhaps there may be a correlation
concerned supporter
Guest
''I resent paying Murdoch for anything '' Sounds like a mate of mine. Another reason that Foxtel is struggling to increase its subscriber base, is the vast improvement of FTA, in particular, their auxiliary channels,which, in my opinion, have, on many occasions, better programs than the flagship channels. You couldn't pay me enough money to watch MFS and other Ch 9 souped up dramas. I am pleased that my grandsons, ages 17 & 19 don't watch MFS etc, but plenty of people do. People complain about David Gallop, Rugby has the worst administrators of the major codes. RA Chairman, Cameron Clyne, ex NAB Director & CEO till 2014, before Thorburn, has no feel for the game, rather have Gallop any day.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Basically retired describes me too so I guess I'm close to your age. I ditched Foxtel and bought MyFootball for the A-League, but then caved and bought Kayo for the Asian Cup. Kayo is pretty good but I resent paying Murdoch for anything so I'll probably ditch Kayo too. Yes - NSW.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
You do know they have to thank the sport of rugby league for touch? It was founded by a rugby league team as a training drill. It is virtually rugby league without tackling or kicking for example. So it has every right to be part of the rugby league umbrella. Perhaps those people should be hypocrites elsewhere & go play other sports then.
concerned supporter
Guest
Cheers Redondo, You make some interesting points. I would be a fair bit older than you I would imagine. I am basically retired and now have plenty of time to watch sport on tv. Do you have Foxtel? Are you from NSW?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Concerned, apologies for the sarcasm in my previous comment. I don't watch much sport nowadays except Football, primarily the A-League and the national teams, but also Asian Champions League, La Liga and EPL when I get a chance. I used to watch a lot of test cricket but find little time to do that now. A long period dominated by obnoxious Aussie cricketers made that easy to do. ODIs and T20 bore me to tears. Both do their best to eliminate attacking bowling, which eliminates half the entertainment value of cricket. I also used to watch a lot of Rugby but now I'll only watch the Wallabies and that's a real trial most of the time. Too many players with poor skills and too much grinding, monotonous multi-phase possession. The sport in Australia is suffering badly from the shrinking participation base. I tune in to a state of origin league game every so often to see if league has got any better. I got bored with its extreme repetition when I was a teenager and it seems to have only got worse. In my experience, touch football only makes the repetition worse. Although it is a great form of exercise I can't imagine any sane person paying to watch touch football. For me, AFL is a dead loss. My extended family are great fans so I watch a bit but, as a sport, it just looks badly designed. The constant agitation to change the rules is a symptom of the ease with which modern negative tactics have manipulated and stifled the game. That happens in all sports but AFL seems particularly susceptible. AFLX is a silly aberration - the reduced size of the field and the rectangular boundaries make it harder for the true athletes to shine, suppressing one of AFL's best attributes. Horse racing - nah. Cycling - only the Tour de France, and even then only the mountain stages, and that's really only to marvel at what humans can do courtesy of modern pharmacology. For me there are two main factors that determine interest in watching a sport. First is experience playing the sport. It's really difficult to enjoy watching something you don't understand and you have to have played to really know what's happening. Second is supporting a team, or teams, and taking a minute interest in the players, the coaching and the tactics. As long as the quality on display is sufficient, having a deep interest in a particular team sustains interest, even in matches others find dull. For me the A-League fits both criteria, with the added advantage that I can attend games, which are always better in the flesh than on TV. Apart from horse racing, the only sport in the above list that I haven't played is AFL, which perhaps explains my incomprehension that anyone finds it entertaining.
concerned supporter
Guest
Hi Redondo, you say, '' tell us what sports you like to watch.'' Funny you say that as yesterday I filled in a very comprehensive survey from Foxtel. They seem to be worried about their existing subscribers for reasons discussed at length in this article. Seeing you need a laugh and without boring people too much here I go, 1/Test Cricket + ODI's, NOT T20's 2/Super Rugby, Wallabies + Shute Shield (I live in Sydney) 3/NRL + International RL 4/ Socceroos 5/Horse Racing No AFL, AFLX or AFLW, leave that to expat Victorians. Perhaps Redondo you may list your favourites?
chris
Guest
Perth and country WA? Maybe we will uncover enough megastars there that can challenge the might of Ireland? Whats the scouting reporting showing you Martyn? Do we have any hope?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
“I can’t watch...without...”. The words after ‘without’ are also part of the sentence.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
chris if you take a drive around Perth you will see heaps of AFL and Union. Little soccer. Go country in WA and it's all AFL
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Channel 9 and 7 pay 'rights' to broadcast those codes. No cosy arrangements. Its' called a business deal. Who pays to send the socceroos overseas to get booted out in the first round of the world cup? The Aussie tax payer, that's who.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
FFA have no home ground. Don't own a stadium. Up until 2 years back they had no idea when to play the final.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
"If the theory holds up, AFL and NRL ratings are about to take a monster slide." So where is your evidence?
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Thats creepy.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
FTA in Perth for A-League Final was, wait for it 4,000
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
One minute your saying "But I know I can’t watch AFL or NRL" Then in the next breath "the quality of the AFL has noticeably declined" If you don't watch, how do you know that it has declined?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Give us a laugh Concerned and tell us what sports you like to watch.