‘Staggering growth’ in Chinese AFL audience

[The_Wookie]

Port Adelaide Football Club’s ambitious move to capture Chinese interest has landed the club the most watched home-and-away game in AFL history.

The April 23 Adelaide Oval game between the Power and Geelong was bolstered by almost four million people watching the match from mainland China.

Following the strong viewing figures from the first two screenings by China’s state broadcaster, Port Adelaide, the AFL and CCTV have signed an agreement to show one game weekly for the rest of this season.

The ratings mean almost five times as many people in China than Australia watched Power’s round five clash at Adelaide Oval.

Club chief executive Keith Thomas said the numbers demonstrated a real appetite for AFL.

“When we entered into a partnership with CCTV to broadcast games against Essendon and Geelong, we weren’t sure how they would be accepted by CCTV’s viewing audience,” he said. “We were hopeful of gaining an audience share of between one and two million viewers by our second broadcast game, but to achieve over two million viewers for the first broadcast game in round three was very pleasing. But for me, the real story is in the staggering growth from our first broadcast game to the second.”

Port Adelaide’s round three home-ground win against Essendon on April 8 drew an average of 2.12 million viewers in China, compared with 947,025 across Australia. That increased to 3.87 million for Port Adelaide’s round five loss to Geelong, watched by 858,386 in Australia.

The average gross television audience per round last year across the Seven Network and Fox Footy Channel was 4.466 million. The 2012 Hawthorn-Sydney grand final attracted a TV audience of 4.08 million, the largest in a decade.

As part of the new agreement between Port Adelaide, the AFL and CCTV, one in every three games broadcast in China will feature the Power, giving other clubs and stadiums the opportunity to reach a new audience. CCTV5+ sports channel will broadcast any final in which Port Adelaide plays, and screen the grand final regardless of who plays.

CCTV5+ director and sports presenter Zhang Bin said it was too early to gauge the overall popularity of AFL in China, but he hoped coverage would increase tourism to Australia. First impressions from his staff and viewer feedback was that the game had “faster pace and more vivid movement than other codes such as traditional rugby or NFL games”.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/a ... 1311256934

[leeroy*NRL*]

Port Adelaide’s round three home-ground win against Essendon on April 8
drew an average of 2.12 million viewers in China,
3.87 million for Port Adelaide’s round five loss to Geelong,

Seems abit far fetched for these figures to come out of nowhere..
The AFL would be all over this, that a game has potentially scored more viewers
than the AFL Grand Final in another country..

That it a took a News Journalist in Adelaide to publish...

Seems something like the A League would Publish about there A League Grand Final
to be watched by 40million people across Asia

[The_Wookie]

Its also on the Port Adelaide website.

Quotes from the chinese broadcaster though, and the fact that the deal was increased is relevant.

[Darren]

I'd be doing some pretty thorough fact checking with this story.

[Darren]

Just read another story from 22 April with a heading"Lost in translation. Power await China ratings." Basically it says the Power estimated that 2 mill people might have seen the Essendon match based on the fact the reach is 1.2 Bill. However at stage they hadn't even been told of any ratings results????

It goes on to say Port has employed a translater because "It would appear elements of the Power's ratings request may have been lost in translation or that ratings assessments are collected and made differently in the two countries."

Long way to go with this story I think.

[The_Wookie]

No question.

[ParraEelsNRL]

Bahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

all this from a guy thta had to learn to get the ratings from the mungos years ago when learning at BF.

LOL..

You think they are real.

I have a spare caravan for sale, you plonka

[ParraEelsNRL]

Hahah all the Chinese taking an interest in that skinny white mans game from down under, fair dinkum, STOP EMBARRASSING AUSTRALIA SO MUCH.

[Swans4ever]

Either way it is a good result!

[ParraEelsNRL]

Makes me sick that this so called thing that masquerades as a sport with all the overtones of an erotic mens homosexual awakening with them clawing and jumping all over each others backs is being shown how a real Aussie man behaves.

We hate the sport, most Australians hate cheap shots merkins and your sport is KING when it comes to that, always from behind. Weirdos.

[ParraEelsNRL]

Wouldn't even be true swines you ******.

[ParraEelsNRL]

FMD they open by saying the interpretation could be wrong, but lets RUN WITH IT ANYWAY

[Xman]

Are you ok parra? Your melts on here today seem a bit out of character. Whats wrong mate? Pm me if you need a chat

[Beaussie]

Wow look at the leaguie meltdown at the mere mention of millions of Chinese watching the AFL. Fucking hilarious

[Darren]

Just got some more info. In China they only have 1 ratings box for every 260,000 people in the big cities like Shanghai and less in other areas. This means only 8 people with boxes in all of China need to watch an AFL game to get a rating figure of over 2 Mill. That's 8!!!!!!!!

I'd say this story is going to crash and burn.