Before I mention the NRL’s massive Thursday night viewing numbers – a time-slot which will be exclusively theirs for most of the league season – it has to be asked: where have all the prime time games gone?
With circumstances completely out of anyone’s control, the Highlanders-Crusaders game was called off on Saturday morning, due to the terror attacks in Christchurch a day earlier. Yet, for the third time this season, there was no Saturday game scheduled in the pinnacle viewing time in Eastern Australia.
This meant that there was no top level rugby union on that night, so would anyone be surprised if we all switched over to league? Of course not, that’s what happens when there’s no competitor.
On Thursday night, the NRL opening game took place. There was no Super Rugby on – since a brief experiment in 2017, there have been no Thursday matches – no AFLW, A-League or NBL final, meaning the National Rugby League had nothing in its way.
The combined metro and regional ratings were 849,000.
So what does that tell us? Simply, that you schedule a game in stand-alone peak viewership time, that viewership will be significantly higher.
Rugby Australia should take notice. Twice this year there will be Sunday afternoon games at the expense of prime time Friday or Saturday night fixtures – two of the five times that this will happen.
New Zealand have got it right. Every Friday and Saturday night all season will feature at least one game. They’re not fiddling around with Sunday afternoon fixtures, however tempting they might be.
Melbourne Rebels’s Quade Cooper (CHRISTIAAN KOTZE/AFP/Getty Images)
With four teams, each having eight home games, that’s enough for two games per round, for 16 rounds of an 18-round competition, assuming there are no aimless Sunday arvo clashes.
How easy would it be to move the Sunwolves game vs the Reds to 5:45pm Tokyo time, at 7:45pm AEDT? Whenever the Japan team are in Singapore, they play later than this, and in rounds 10 and 11 are scheduled for Friday night clashes at 8pm AEST, vs the Lions and Highlanders.
Ratings have been pretty positive this year: an underwhelming Brumbies vs Waratahs still managed 77,000, even though it was up against the biggest rivalry in rugby league, that of the Roosters and Rabbitohs.
This, while being dwarfed by the eyeballs watching the NRL, dominated the A-League who just cracked 23k for the Adelaide-Perth match-up, and NBL grand final game four, which just reached 25 thousand.
Any top level rugby that’s on, gets the nod over league for me, and there are many others who are the same. However, this weekend, I’ll be flicking from league to AFL.
Sure, come Saturday, I’ll be fixed on the 15-man game, even to the late Sunwolves match, but on Friday, Rugby Australia has given us no choice.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
You didn't. If you do not use it, the user you are replying to isn't aware you've replied.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, ''Firstly. Learn to use the reply function…'' TWAS, I did use the reply function, but it is a minor misdemeanour if I didn't. You are a petty, rude individual with no manners. TWAS, I have been subscribing to Foxtel since 1996.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Firstly. Learn to use the reply function... Secondly. I doubt it. Foxtel is approx $50 a month to have the sports package. I doubt there are people who pay $50 for only Rugby Union, so therefore I doubt they will leave for only Rugby Union. Foxtel's benefit is it offers a multitude of sports. The cost is high, but still lower than subscribing to many sports individually.
Bobwire
Guest
Cheika said this about Super Rugby "we have to get that tournament out there so more kids can see it" I think it was on rugby.com As usual if you have fox - all good. FTA one game a week, and some of them (Tah's vs Ponies) are not going to get kids say "I wanna be a Wallaby" Starved for rugger in regional WA.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, Did you do your research on Foxtel? Foxtel’s quarterly report to December 2018 said, ” Segment EBITDA in the quarter decreased $71 million, or 46%, compared with the prior year, primarily due to the lower revenues discussed above, planned increases in programming costs related to Cricket Australia and National Rugby League rights, higher production costs related to the new Fox Cricket channel and higher marketing costs primarily related to the launch of Kayo Sports, partially offset by the $33 million positive impact on expenses from foreign currency fluctuations.” TWAS, not sure whether you understand the above, but WITHOUT the AUD 33 million profit from foreign currency. Foxtel's EBITDA would be AUD 104 million less than the corresponding 3 months in 2017. Mr ''Suit yourself'' TWAS. Murdoch would panic if Super Rugby was on FTA, a large exodus of Rugby people would occur, don't you think?
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
I've occasionally been tempted into tuning in. Can I just say the quality of play and the fitness of players was breathtaking. :)
DNZ
Guest
As a fan of both rugby and the Canberra Raiders, I have been forced to have Foxtel to follow my teams regardless of the fact once code apparently has huge free to air television deal. Not all clubs are created equally when it comes to commercial television rights and not all codes are either. That is just an unfortunate fact of life. Rugby, like the A League, probably can't afford to take the risk at this stage, particularly when it has to pay the bills. In the UK, football fans need to subscribe to not one but two pay tv operators to follow their side over the course of the season.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
There's an element of truth there, but have fun growing the game if you lose most of your broadcasting dollars. FTA won't pay much, if anything, for Super Rugby.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
You’re trying to compare the growth of something that is capturing a lot of the Foxtel market to something which is struggling to capture a small percentage of it. Ie a sport in a similar position to the A-League...
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, "BBL was extremely well viewed on Foxtel. So forget it. it’s no comparison to Rugby.'' I am not comparing BBL with Rugby, I am comparing viewers on Foxtel BBL with Ch 10 Viewers about 20-25 % of Ch 10.
E-Meter
Roar Rookie
Don't forget NITV has a replay of the previous weekend's game of the world renowned Coopers Brewery Premier League in Adelaide. Here you can see traditional rivals such as Onkaparinga and Collegians go head to head.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Nah. I just bother to research about the market, not spout random rubbish like you. If Super Rugby tripled it's viewers it would be a quarter of that game. They'd be nowhere. Broadcasters would consider not even showing games at those ratings. Can you comprehend that?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
You keep making this same nonsensical argument. BBL was extremely well viewed on Foxtel. So forget it. it's no comparison to Rugby. What the A-League, a similarly set up sport with similar profile and similar ratings has shown us is that sports which are in the range of 100k viewers or less on pay TV struggle with an impact on FTA. Super Rugby may triple it's average audience from 80k to 240k. But that won't be enough to be relevant. What the A-League has shown is that doesn't really happen and then a smaller portion of the FTA market watches than they did on Pay TV. Why? Because people who have Foxtel are more likely to watch sport - as they've paid for a platform which provides sport. FTA is just available. And that's before we consider that FTA as a profitable platform is dying. Subscription TV is a very lucrative market even in decline where as advertising on FTA is going backwards in value and that will be felt in TV rights.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
Tom English, you said. ''The combined metro and regional ratings were 849,000.'' I think that you forgot about Fox Sports. ''Just under 850,000 viewers tuned into Channel Nine's coverage of the Storm's win, with another 333,895 watching on Fox Sports – who enjoyed a 27 per cent ratings increase on last year's season opener.'' Link; /www.nrl.com/news/2019/03/15/record-tv-ratings-mark-nrls-return-in-2019/'' Maybe it would help TWAS to comprehend that normally FTA viewers are 2 - 3 times more than Foxtel. Similar proportions FTA v Foxtel occur for Wallaby Test Matches. TWAS must have shares in News Corp (ASX; NWS), he has been maligning the benefits of FTA for Rugby forever.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, Irrelevant what you said, ''They were successful on FTA TV because they already were very well supported week in, week out.'' Don't you think that if 25 million Australians have access to FTA v only 8 million to Foxtel is a reason that Rugby, particularly Super Rugby needs FTA desperately? Murdoch (owns 21% of Ch 10) would not let it happen. Remember when the BBL rights were bought by CH 10 in 2013 after being on FoxCrikcet for the first two seasons of its existence? Network Ten's BBL coverage became a regular feature of Australian summers and attracted an average audience of more than 943,000 people nationally in 2014–15 season, including a peak audience of 1.9 million viewers for the final between the Scorchers and Sixers. It blew Fox Crickets attendances & TV ratings away.
Dwards
Roar Rookie
I still have fox for movies, but kayo is actually cheaper for sport and much more convenient for me. The kayo minis are really handy, i just wish they did them for the non-oz games.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The old silver bullet...
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
They were both more successful than rugby ever was before TV. Richmond were getting 65k every week at the MCG in 1980. They were successful on FTA TV because they already were very well supported week in, week out. A League is the closest comparison to Rugby.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, The AFL + NRL success on FTA shows your view is wrong.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Indeed, even if you watch only 2 games /week, that's just a few bucks per game. Can you even get a sausage roll for that money, these days?