Partly due to the involvement of everyone’s second team Central Coast Mariners and the brilliant football played throughout the season that continues to draw people to the A-Leagues, the ratings for the 2022-23 decider were impressive.
The APL will be urgently reminding Paramount+, a subsidiary of American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate Paramount Global, that the reported numbers are exactly the reason they invested in Australia’s domestic leagues back in 2021.
As a vulnerable league during the pandemic and the most likely of the major Australian competitions to go under had the health emergency continued over a lengthier period of time, the A-League appears to have emerged from the COVID hellhole in better shape than many expected.
Based on Grand Final numbers, the obvious quality of player being produced and the football played throughout the latest home-and-away season, any death knells delivered on the A-League appear to have been considerably premature and inaccurate.
The executives at Paramount will be wiping their brows in relief, hopeful of continued growth, yet also aware that things are far from perfect. The suits know that there is plenty of work to be done in terms of building the A-Leagues to a point where they are safe, secure, well-loved and here to stay for the long term.
However, the metrics from the stunning 6-1 Grand Final victory by the Central Coast Mariners over Melbourne City are worth shouting from the highest rooftop, particularly towards those people seemingly hell-bent on doing all they can to discredit and disrespect football in Australia at every opportunity.
The total national audience for the match was up 51 per cent on last years’ decider that saw Western United defeat a now repeat offending and choking Melbourne City.
The viewing audience was up 62 per cent in the 25-54 age demographic, 58 per cent in the over 50s and the total match audience was the largest since 2019. The match rated No.2 in its time slot on Network 10, based on total viewers and the key demographics.
Predictably, these are not numbers I expect to see reported in major Australian newspapers, yet ones that should give the APL some serious hope that a post-pandemic A-League can actually survive and thrive.
A few years back, as we all worried frantically about exactly what our world would look like when the toilet paper panic and utter madness would end, the long-term future of the A-League did seem questionable.
However, just as the Australian economy has rebounded and business, construction and the entertainment industry have led the charge, so too have the A-Leagues emerged from a scary time with plenty of impetus and great hope for the future.
(Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
According to Paramount’s official numbers, A-League Men matches in 2022-23 saw a 48 per cent growth in viewing minutes from the season prior. The women’s competition exceeded that mark with a 63 per cent increase in the same metric and the competitions reached a total of 6.08 million Australians.
Needless to say, APL boss Danny Townsend was cock-a-hoop after the numbers were announced.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for Australasian football, and as we reflect on the season that was, there is so much to celebrate. We had 44 per cent more fans attend men’s games and 56 per cent more fans went to women’s games”, he said.
Notably, attendance records were broken three times during the finals series.
For a heck of a long time, Australian football has copped a fair whack from media types no doubt threatened by the potential influence of the domestic game when it eventually broadens into something mirroring football abroad. Right now, that is still some way off.
Yet for us true believers and those seeing the brilliant young Socceroos emerging from the A-league, people loving the entertainment provided on a weekly basis in both the men’s and women’s competitions, and those of us happy to see steady and incremental growth, the season just past provided plenty of positive supporting evidence.
Now a Women’s World Cup looms and another chance to advance football in Australia, particularly amongst young women.
It was all I could think about as I stood at an NPL Under-16s women’s match last Sunday; just where this beautiful game will one day sit in the Australian pecking order.
Based on what we saw in the A-Leagues this season, that day may be coming a little sooner than some people might believe.
Grem
Roar Rookie
THE Macarthur region is bursting at the seams in all regions except Wollondilly, the latest 2016 census figures show. Camden’s population hit 78,218 people, a 38 per cent increase since the last Census in 2011 when the number of residents stood at 56,719. In neighbouring Campbelltown, the population reached 157,006, up from 145,969 in 2011. However Wollondilly’s population fell from 76,322 in 2011 to 74,568 in 2016. The figures show the Macarthur region’s population is now 309,792.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
I am sick of people using the "plastic" tag when referring to Aleague clubs. Why is an Aleague club plastic and not an NPL club? What is the difference? The NPL clubs were created at some point in the past by a group of people, some by one particular ethnic community while others were not. The Aleague clubs were created by groups of people as well, to represent a city or a geographic region. The only difference being the Aleague clubs are privately owned and professional. So why the plastic tag?
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
Maybe WU will improve next season when they play at their 5k capacity Tarneit Training Centre.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
You have that risk with any media company Waz. Fox Sports abandoned the Aleague, what's the difference?
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
Can't argue with any of that Midfielder. I don't agree with the GF decision but I accept it, as we clearly need the money. The way the whole thing was managed and communicated was the issue and DT's continued arrogance and manner in which he communicates pisses people off. Having said all that, we have had bad administrators and bad decisions before. So nothing like this will stop me from supporting the elite league of our local game which is the Aleague.
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
You're spot on Stuart. Like I've said many times before, this is why the game in Australia cannot do away with the finals as so many keep banging on about just so we can follow the Euro first passed the post system. Big crowd all things considered, great tv ratings which means great exposure.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“ So the guaranteed cash injection for 3 years, providing certainty of ground availability, and opening up the possibility of other govts wanting a piece of the action, thus potentially more funds, mean nothing?” It doesn’t mean nothing: It means many fans have walked from the game, it means many others can’t afford to go to a Grand Final, it deprives youngsters around the country the opportunity of experiencing a Grand Final which will have negative impacts for decades to come, and it’s unfair to the best side not to continue the final tradition. So it doesn’t mean nothing … it means something but all of it is negative.
mrl
Roar Rookie
He is a referee and junior coach now at 20 years. His little brother (13 years ) is a promising goalkeeper...they love it. And no brain damage from my fist-pump...phew.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
hey next year we'll have 2nd Div to watch during the winter in between A-League seasons wooo hooo
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
God bless the boy, a football fan and tough as old boots, i have no doubt you're a proud Dad. Foster the boy in all the good things in life, like the World Cup, the Asian Cup the World Cup Qualifiers, suppporting his team through thick and thin, rain, hail or shine.
Limo
Roar Rookie
Agree Greg. Very excited for next year but I hope my team sydney fc get a better coach
Limo
Roar Rookie
Im tipping next years GF to have a tv audience in excess of 300,000.
Limo
Roar Rookie
Its now time for ch 10 and paramount to significantly grow their investment in marketing and promoting the A LEAGUE for next season and for the clubs to invest in better marquees. I note Angel Di Maria is available!
Garry
Roar Rookie
and start the comp with the EPL..mid August
Garry
Roar Rookie
"Nonetheless, the Macarthur region has been quietly growing and flourishing under the radar. In fact it’s predicted to have 600,000 people by 2036 and expected to have a greater population than Wollongong or the Sunshine Coast."
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
No Macarthur is 150k and the growth in population is going to be to 300k . That growth is going to be around Leppington. The West of Melbourne is going to be the main growth center for Melbourne and Tarneit is going to be smack in the middle of it with the airport in the north west. Tarneit in 40 years will be ideally placed with a million around it. Canberra its going to increase but not at the current rate. Wollongong the land closer to Sydney is all used up.
chris1
Roar Rookie
I heard a story that PF ended up in a bar in Germany way back in 2006. Ie jumped on the Socceroos making the WC bandwagon. Well that didn't go down well with the fans in the bar and he made a hasty retreat. From that point on his anti-football stance got even worse.
AR
Roar Rookie
Gotta love a press release which is cock-a-hoop about the amazing impressive viewing figures...that doesn't actually say what the amazing impressive viewing figures are. The FTA ratings were 174k nationally. That's up on last year's Grand Final which drew a bit over 100k. You'd expect the Paramount figures to be less than 100k. But I guess we'll never know.
AR
Roar Rookie
"Your not an engineer" And you're not an English teacher.
c
Roar Rookie
will the Australian media bias ever improve in our favour :football: congrats ange