Don’t forget the NFL and NBA ratings…

Just out of curiousity – I wonder how long it will take this post to reach 100 comments – it has all the ingredients (ie: comparison between NRL and AFL in the title) although it might have been better if you’d slandered soccer fans in there somewhere too…. just saying is all…. 🙂

Feel free to write to the Panthers Club Board and say that…

The NRL ratings were probably hurt by the nature of the two teams playing. Neither Manly nor Warriors are exactly audience grabbers in Australia. It’s interesting to compare to 2005 when Tigers v Cowboys Grand Final grabbed biggest TV ratings NRL has even had (I read this somewhere the other day – please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I said if.)

Two points.

Firstly – the 3 million odd that watched the AFL had to suffer through Meatloaf so the fact that they stayed to watch the game is commendable.

Secondly – why do advertisers only care about metro markets? I live in regional NSW – if the advertisers don’t care whether we watch the ads or not then can the networks stop showing the bloody things!

Thirdly – Australia has 22 million people – so on both Saturday and Sunday there were roughly 19 million of them who weren’t watching the footy. So much for either code being the NATIONAL code…

just out of curiousity – what is the largest audience a sporting event has gotten in Australia – Cathy Freeman’s 400?

(Getting tired of having to make the same point again and again and again…)

Stewart was at an official NRL Function and he was the official ‘Face of Rugby League’ for 2009 and centre of a large promotional campaign. What players do on Mad Monday at the END of the season has nothing to do with this topic. It was not MAD Monday. If I was at a work function complete with clients and sponsors AND I was the centre of a recently launched promotional campaign i’d hope someone was smart enough to tell me to stay off the piss…

It will be interesting to see what comment comes out of Channel 9 now that the story is getting a lot of play n the media – will they be forced to apologise or just pretend it didn’t happen.

‘m not sure if it’s the media outlets that are the problem. The guidelines on what do and don’t qualify as political advertising are very clear. Channel 9 knows this. Phil Gould should have known this. All the politicians are doing is correctly pointing out that their comments should have followed by ‘Spoken by Phil Gould and Ray Warren – paid for by Clubs Australia.”

Firstly… only 9 responses? C’mon people – not responding to this post is SO UnAustralian!

Secondly – I guess NRL’s leap to the defence of Poker Machines is not a huge surprise given how much betting has become an integral part of the game. It’s just a pity that this state of affairs is assumed to be the norm and anything other than the status quo is shouted down like it’s communism or something.

How exactly do sporting clubs in NZ and WA manage to survive without the incredibly selfless generousity of the kind hearted poker machine industry?

Wow – looks like I’m not the only one annoyed about it. Good on Wilkie – hope Channel 9 gets roasted for it.

FROM ABC NEWS

Wilkie to complain over Ch 9 pokie comments

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says he and Senator Nick Xenophon will lodge a formal complaint over Channel Nine’s airing of comments on poker machine laws.

The move came ahead of Sunday afternoon’s NRL grand final, which featured big-screen advertisements labelling the pokies reforms un-Australian.

Channel Nine reportedly said there would be no editorialising during Sunday’s television commentary, unlike last weekend when commentators Ray Warren and Phil Gould discussed Mr Wilkie’s proposed mandatory pre-commitment reforms during the station’s coverage of an NRL semi-final.

Mr Wilkie says it was passed off as commentary when it sounded more like political advertising.

He told Sky News a letter of complaint would be sent to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) tomorrow.

He said while Channel Nine and the NRL were entitled to campaign against the changes, there were clear rules governing political advertising on TV.

“If someone is going to effectively make a political advertisement, then there are issues that it has to be identified as such and authorised,” he said.

“People need to make quite clear what their interests are in this matter.

“When you have commentators who have clear links to rugby league clubs and hence a clear interest in the financial performance of those clubs, they should make that quite clear, otherwise they are at risk of deceiving their audience.

“In this case there is a prima facie case that Channel Nine and the commentators are in breach of the existing legislation.”
‘Un-Australian’

The Nine Network reportedly confirmed there would be no editorialising on gambling reform in Sunday’s NRL grand final broadcast.

But News Limited said league legend Steve Mortimer would feature in big-screen advertisements to tell the 82,000-strong crowd that the reforms are un-Australian and will hurt the football code.

Finance minister Penny Wong says the Government will not bow to such pressure.

“I think we’ve got to keep focused, and [remember] what’s important and what’s right,” she told Channel 10.

Mr Wilkie also renewed his threat to pull support for the Federal Government if his plan to tackle problem gambling is not passed by May next year.

“There’s no theatre here, no grand strategy playing out. I have reached an agreement with the prime minister, she is only the prime minister because she agreed to it,” he said.

Under the reforms, pokie machines will be reprogrammed to cap losses at $120 an hour rather than $1,200 an hour, but lower-intensity machines will not require any form of pre-commitment.

Mr Wilkie said he was not prepared to negotiate further on the plan.

“There’s no flexibility at all, there must be mandatory pre-commitment fit to all high intensity pokie machines,” he said.

He said he remained confident his proposed changes would be successful, and expects it to be law by May next year.

“I actually remain very very optimistic, I think it is most likely that these reforms will be realised. I think it is very unlikely, in fact it’s now reached the stage of almost inconceivable that I will have to withdraw my support [for the Government], as everyone knows is the bottom line,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lobby group GetUp! was to air a commercial during Sunday’s NRL grand final in support of the Gillard Government’s pokie reforms.

GetUp! national director Simon Sheikh said the advertisements were aimed at countering the big spend and misinformation campaign by Clubs Australia.

“They’re trying to walk both sides of the street, saying that reform will ruin the revenue they receive from problem gamblers, while at the same time saying that reform won’t reduce problem gambling,” he said in a statement.

Mr Sheik said a problem gambler can lose $1,200 in one hour on high-intensity machines and 40 per cent of pokie losses come from problem gamblers.

“Without reform, pokie machines enable a social problem that can ruin individuals, families, businesses and marriages,” Mr Sheikh said.

“Clubs give back just 2.7 per cent of profits in community contributions and for most, this is less than what they spend advertising their pokie palaces,” he said.

ABC/AAP

I hope that this was a positive outcome from the game. I’m quite sure David Gallop wasn’t exactly losing any sleep over it. What worries me is that the Manly team mentality is built around the idea of ‘us vs them’ therefore it won’t be long until the next perceived ‘injustice’ towards Manly is used to motivate the team and the brothers Stewart are encouraged to hold a grudge again.

It may be a brilliant psychological technique for motivating the team but where does it leave the players after they leave the club – thinking the whole world is always against them?

I heartily agree. That was probably the worst reffing effort i’ve seen all year. My son was asking me if the Ref was running a Grand Final for the first time and i had to answer that Tony Archer is one of the most experienced referees in the game – but something went badly wrong last night.

At least FOUR major errors in a game this important. *shakes head* not a good look

Anyone care to make a prediction as to the make up of the two squads?

I’m thinking… Slater, Lockyer, Smith, Cronk, Thurston, Thaiday, Stewart, Gallen (is he still injured?), Yow Yeh, Hoppa… who else? Maybe Barba, Soward… is Petro too old?

Thoughts?

For New Zealand I’ve love to see a lot of those young Warriors players in the side – along with Matai, Marshall, Foran etc…

Not sure if you could say the decisions could have gone either way…

Pretty sure playing the ball facing the sideline is illegal

As is tackling a player without a ball

And obstructing a player who doesn’t have the ball.

Guess the normal NRL rules don’t apply to Manly

I remember that game… for a moment it looked like the Warriors could actually win it…. then the crushing disappointed that followed.

So what you’re saying is… no matter which side loses the game – New Zealand wins?

What? I thought writing opinionated articles without bothering to research the facts was a sign of good journalism these days? It would certainly get me a job at the Daily Telegraph… 🙂

Actually I was asking for an OPINION… I’m sure ten different people have ten different reasons why the Western Reds folded.

Great article – you write very well for Manly supporter 🙂

I’d love to see a close GF – if the Warriors can do the same thing they did in their previous two games where I was on the edge of my seat up until the final minute…. mate…. it’ll be fantastic.

Probably the most disappointing GF I’ve ever seen was that 40 point thrashing Manly gave Melbourne in ’08. Firstly – I didn’t care for either team – secondly the game was over way before the game was over.

Ironically every year since the GF has been played between one team that has been strong all year and another team that has surged in the final weeks of the comp. Let’s hope the Warriors can do what the Eels couldn’t in 2009 and the Roosters couldn’t do in 210.

Interesting article. A couple of questions though that I am curious about.

Can anyone give a comparison of ticket prices between AFL, NRL, A-League and Union? I’ve always wondered about that – have only been to NRL games and usually as part of a group concession so my understanding of ticket prices is very limited.

Also – there’s a lot of talk about AFL games being dominated by tickets as part of corporate packages – exactly what percentage of the tickets sold do these make up?

There have been a few good points made in the responses that I would agree with – having attended live NRL games I know that you get a MUCH better perspective from watching on TV. I don’t know about AFL because I haven’t watched it ion TV or live. I know Union isn’t quite as good on TV but the TV version is still better than live.

I wonder if there’s something cultural in this too – attending the AFL is much more part of Melbournes Cultural identity than the other codes?

Also which code is more family friendly – this would surely have a large influence?

Not saying the Bears won’t soon rejoin the NRL – but there’s only resource you didn’t take into account. Adding the Bears doesn’t expand the game in terms of juniors, in terms of promoting the game to people who don’t already play it. It would serve the same purpose as a second Brisbane team – split the finite number of available players among more clubs.

I don’t doubt that Perth will probably be added to the NRL very soon. It ticks a lot of boxes. Just hope they get it right.

Preciisely. The whole basis for expansion has to be whether or not the club can work financially and whether it promotes the game and allows it to grow.

If you look at clubs like the Broncos, the Knights, the Cowboys, the Warriors and the Storm they all fit that criteria. The Storm in particularly should always have been much more agressively marketed (much like GWS are at the moment) to ensure that Rugby League is established as a sport in it’s catchment area and eventually the Storm can field local players (as opposed to expat Queenslanders).

I think the NRL would be smart to look at the AFL model of expansion because it works quite well. Set one club up at a time. Grant them exemptions from the salary cap for the first couple of years to enable them to get up and running fast. Subsidise their operation until they are financially viable.

When people aren’t busy discussing how the Poker Machine reforms are going to single handedly bankrupt every single sports team in the country that is…

I think maybe the issue with the Perth bid is that they need to offer an anaysis of why the Western Reds folded the first time – and explain how they will be different. I know the idea of a Perth team looks great Geographically – putting the NATIONAL in NRL but it needs to be done right.

In ten years time i’d love to see a 2nd NZ team – a country of 4 million can definitely support it. Whether it be a 2nd Auckland team or a team based out of Wellington/ Christchurch is up for debate. There probably needs to be a cultural shift for a team to establish themselves outside of Auckland. It’s interesting to to note that a lot of schools – particularly in the South Island don’t even play Rugby League as a sport. Hopefully the success of the Warriors can result in some extra money being pumped into the NZRL that they can spend on development.

I think you meant 2nd NZ team in Auckland not Wellington. Auckland is where the Pacific Island talent is.
I think Auckland could easily support another team.

Oikee the competition had expanded to 20 teams before the Super League war happened. From memory (I’m sure somebody will correct me) the Hunter Mariners were the only team added as a direct result of Super League. Of those twenty teams a number had folded within a few years. There just wasn’t the community support or financial support for them. Regardless of WHICH competition they’re playing in, in the end teams have to be able to support themselves.

Agree about the Dinosaurs but am not sure what to expect from IC.