AFL vs NRL - the TV war

Macca · Post by **Macca** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:50 pm

The only NRL fans can win the argument is by belittling areas (Tasmania) or forgetting completely some (NT). NRL is the second most watched football in its biggest country. NRL is only No 1 in one country - PNG. Rugby Union is only No 1 in countries - NZ & Wales. Soccer is bigger in England, France and S Africa.. The only region of Aus that the AFL has lost to the NRL is Canberra.

King-Eliagh · Post by **King-Eliagh** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 10:43 am

Ummm Canberra? What about Sydney and Brisbane Macca? NRL Strongholds

Post by **Beaussie** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:33 pm

TLPG wrote:
Look at the attendance figures and see who's winning the real battle. Further to that, NRL ratings are limited to two states - in particular New South Wales. How well does it rate in the rest of the country?

Terrible is your answer. Channel 9 went live with Penrith vs Melbourne in Victoria yesterday.

Oh dear what a reality check for the NRL. Nearly as many AFL viewers in Sydney were watching the Gold Coast Suns get thrashed by Melbourne. Where is the Melbourne Storm audience to justify live coverage? 37,000

Sevenâ€™s AFL: Rnd 4: Gold Coast Vs Melbourne Seven 439,000 34,000 256,000 75,000 67,000 6,000
Sevenâ€™s AFL: Rnd 4: Fremantle Vs North Melbourne Seven 147,000 *** *** *** *** 147,000

Nineâ€™s Sunday Football Nine 493,000 279,000 37,000 177,000 *** ***

http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/04/week-17-4.html

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:37 pm

The argument of the AFL crew that NRL only dominates in two states is really nonsense. It is a question of people numbers and the reality is that 60% of the population lives in NSW,ACT and QLD.

When it comes to game attendances AFL wins but win it comes to TV viewers NRL wins and when it comes to the combined total NRL wins again.

We must be understanding of the AFL crew who have suddenly found their theory of Australian domination to be a fllacy

Post by **Beaussie** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:42 pm

enarelle wrote:
The argument of the AFL crew that NRL only dominates in two states is really nonsense. It is a question of people numbers and the reality is that 60% of the population lives in NSW,ACT and QLD.

When it comes to game attendances AFL wins but win it comes to TV viewers NRL wins and when it comes to the combined total NRL wins again.

We must be understanding of the AFL crew who have suddenly found their theory of Australian domination to be a fllacy

That is a ridiculous argument. For a start it's not 60% of the population living in NSW,ACT and QLD and secondly, many in those states/territories don't even follow sport, let alone Rugby League.

The crowds and tv ratings speak for themselves. AFL is the number one sporting code in Australia with a national audience no other code can match.

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:03 am

If NSW AND QLD are the first and third most populous states then how many people do you think live in these states? You should listen to your own chief executive,Andrew Demetrou, who when challenged on expansion likes to point out that 66% of the advertising dollars for this country come from NSW/QLD. Do you think there might be a correlation between advertising dollars and population?

If they dont watch sport how did NRL have a higher total national TV audience than AFL last year?

As previously% pointed out the TV ratings shown here do not include regional NSW/QLD. 30% of the Australian population live in these NRL heartlands.

Post by **Beaussie** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:35 pm

NRL did not have a higher total national audience than the AFL last year. Where did you hear that rubbish? As for regional tv ratings, you do realise most AFL parts of the country are not even counted. That's why I don't bother with them. So unreliable as a source of useful information when compared to the all mighty 5 capial cities that provide the ratings the tv networks look at when they buy sports rights.

King-Eliagh · Post by **King-Eliagh** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:24 pm

From 2002-2010 the NRL has rated higher than the AFL in regional and remote NSW and QLD aswell as in Sydney and Brisbane. See Reuters for the detailed info folks.

To me enarelle has definitely been stating the hard facts here. Beaussie I'm not sure why you wouldnt count in the regional areas when you are trying to establish which has the higher ratings... Your argument seems confused and biased

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:29 pm

NRL races ahead in TV viewers stakes
Roy Masters
October 1, 2010

An AFL bonanza of an additional 4 million TV viewers for tomorrow's grand final replay won't eclipse the NRL's lead on cumulative audience figures, as the codes negotiate with networks for new broadcasting deals.

The NRL's total viewership to date is 120 million before Sunday's grand final, while the AFL's is 112m, despite having already played one grand final.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-league/l ... 20100930-1

You will notice this was posted in a Melbourne newspaper and was not challenged by the AFL.

There seems to be a real lack of understanding of the size of the states north of the Murray and their commitment to the NRL. After the state capitals most of the biggest cities in Australia are in NSW/QLD eg Newcastle,Wollongong,Townsville and the Gold Coast and they have their own NRL teams so yes they are big on League.

Yes NSW/QLD spread their interests wider than the AFL states - the Socceroos so proudly supported by the Vics are really the Sydneyroos given that is where nearly the whole team comes from.However,given that the NSW population is 30% bigger than Victoria's there are still a big market left for the NRL to dominate and they do. AFL is a minor sport north of the Murray.

Richard Colless,head of the Swans, pointed out a while ago that they have no latent support ie they have a good game day attendance but almost no support beyond that. This after being in Sydney for 30 years. Yet the Swans are the focus of AFL in Sydney -they get TV audiences of 60k for live games while the other games even when live often dont break 10k.

Post by **Beaussie** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:28 pm

enarelle wrote:
NRL races ahead in TV viewers stakes
Roy Masters
October 1, 2010

An AFL bonanza of an additional 4 million TV viewers for tomorrow's grand final replay won't eclipse the NRL's lead on cumulative audience figures, as the codes negotiate with networks for new broadcasting deals.

The NRL's total viewership to date is 120 million before Sunday's grand final, while the AFL's is 112m, despite having already played one grand final.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-league/l ... 20100930-1

You will notice this was posted in a Melbourne newspaper and was not challenged by the AFL.

Ahh good old Roy. If I remember correctly, the article in question by old Roy included all NRL games - 26 rounds + Toyota Cup + State of Origin and Internationals then compared the cumulative audience figure with the AFL's 22 rounds of the home and away season. Ridiculous article but not surprising from him. He has continually said there was no chance the AFL would get $1 billion this time round for the tv rights. Well guess what Roy. :P

In any case when one tries to follow your link this is the result.

Unfortunately we currently do not have any content for Nrl Races Ahead In Tv Viewers Stakes 20100930 1.

enarelle wrote:
There seems to be a real lack of understanding of the size of the states north of the Murray and their commitment to the NRL. After the state capitals most of the biggest cities in Australia are in NSW/QLD eg Newcastle,Wollongong,Townsville and the Gold Coast and they have their own NRL teams so yes they are big on League.

Again, when was the last time a regional TV network bid for the tv rights of any sport in this country? And why is it that NRL supporters refuse to acknowledge that large parts of the country where AFL rules supreme are not even counted in the tv ratings. Anyway, tv networks know more than you and I and they deem the AFL to be worth another Australian sports record $1 billion. Oh and please don't tell us the NRL doesn't get similar because of News Ltd... blah, blah, blah.

enarelle wrote:
Richard Colless,head of the Swans, pointed out a while ago that they have no latent support ie they have a good game day attendance but almost no support beyond that. This after being in Sydney for 30 years. Yet the Swans are the focus of AFL in Sydney -they get TV audiences of 60k for live games while the other games even when live often dont break 10k.

Have a look at the Easter round of AFL tv ratings. Very encouraging in Sydney and Brisbane for non Swans, Lions or Suns games. Compare that with the pathetic 37,000 viewers in Melbourne for a live NRL game involving the top of the table Melbourne Storm last Sunday.

Swans rated the No. 1 sporting club in town in terms of sponsorship, membership and attendances

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 5837530086

The AFL remains Australiaâ€™s best supported football league.The latest Roy Morgan Single Source data shows 7,624,000 Australians follow one of Australiaâ€™s 16 AFL clubs. This is greater than the support for either of Australiaâ€™s other two major football leagues with the NRL (5,577,000) and A-League (2,870,000) well behind the AFL in terms of support for teams in their respective leagues.

In terms of clubs the Sydney Swans remain the AFLâ€™s most supported team with 1,217,000 (down 61,000 since 2008) supporters Australia-wide. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Sydney Swans have been the most supported AFL team in Australia. The introduction of a new AFL team in West Sydney in 2012 will provide a challenge to the Swans retaining top spot in support in coming years.

http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2009/906/

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:15 pm

Firstly Roy Masters did not compile them he simply reported them and they did not include Toyota Cup but did include Origin/Tests but they also included AFL re season. Also not adjusted for the fact that AFL has 4 free to air games each week versus the NRL 3. this can be varied by contract of course in the future and add considerable dollars to the NRL value because they still have more to sell.

Any way if the NRL has more product that is to there advantage is it not?

AFL crew now seem to be relying on a report that shows that average AFL team TV support is above that of NRL team - just. Lets assume that the 2nd AFL grand final has been removed from the data. However is does not include Origin or Tests or City Country or AFL preseason. Add them in and League is in front for total audience.

Nice quote on the Swans except for two things - firstly does not mention the TV ratings which is where the money is and the Swans aren't and does not mention the downward trend in all those areas. Just proves the point of no latent support outside core membership. Also it does not alter the poor showing of AFL in general in Sydney

AFL will get a billion but allowing for inflation they will only maintain value. For NRL we have to wait a year and will probably get less than a billion but not much. Reality is NRL will get about a 75% increase on their current deal.

I understand that it is tough for the AFL faithful to find only are they not dominating the football crowds but actually have a rival for total audience but this is the reality

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:22 pm

Beau, this link probably explains things far better than I do.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busines ... 6025045416

Post by **Beaussie** » Thu May 05, 2011 6:42 am

Do you honestly believe the NRL will go from $500 million last time to matching the AFL's $1.253 Billion tv deal enarelle? You're living in a fantasy world if you believe that IMO.

kaskill · Post by **kaskill** » Thu May 05, 2011 9:00 am

The NRL TV ratings are alot higher because the supporters are 2 pov to buy tickets to games!

enarelle · Post by **enarelle** » Thu May 05, 2011 12:21 pm

Well they are not likely to get the same deal as they will play one game less per week than AFL so they will play 80% of the club games per weekend.However, you then add back the pot of gold that is Origin not to mention tests.

You also have to consider that at the moment only one NRL game is live on FTA tv so alot of opportunity there.

The biggest opportunity is that when you look at the AFL deal the increase came from Fox and Telstra - indeed Telstra paid a massive increase because the advent of the NBN is changing their business model. Fox is under the pump from the range of digital stations that FTA has launched that need content. NRL is the backbone of their ratings.

Channel 9 will lose big time based on their ratings if they lose the NRL or even someone gets another part of it like the Origin series.

Channel 10 has two stations and no content from either of the two major codes.

Not to mention that for the first time in a decade the NRL rights will go to open tender with a lot of buyers out there.

There are a whole range factors that say a billion is a comfortable number.

Talking Footy

Talking Footy

AFL vs NRL - the TV war