Drac wrote:You're assuming - without evidence - that Origin figures aren't included in the totals, but for the sake or argument, i'll do the same. Here are the salient facts:
AFL is watched by more people than nRL. A league that has sold its soul to television with Monday night football, Sunday evening grand finals, friday double headers and no Saturday arvo footy.
AFL ratings grew significantly, nRL ratings were stagnant.
All this at a time in the AFL when two new teams have been introduced to create two un-even (borderline unwatchable) matches every week. I wonder what'll happen when these two teams are up to scratch in a few years and cellar dwellers like Melbourne, the WB and Port can get the draft picks they need to rebound?
ah d head .....
heres " evidence " indicating what we attracted audience wise in 2011 ... proving quite obviously the figures in this most recent article do not include any of our rep games
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-0 ... ague-games
Nine and Fox Sports will pay A$1.02 billion ($1.07 billion) to broadcast games over five years, the Australian Rugby League Commission said today. That compares to the A$1.25 billion that Seven West Media Ltd. (SWM), Foxtel and Telstra Corp. paid for rights to Australian Football League matches in April 2011.
The ARL Commission, which runs rugby league in Australia, said in a statement it signed the agreement following “several days of intense negotiations with representatives of all commercial television networks.” The deal is worth A$925 million in cash, with the balance to be made up in advertising packages worth A$100 million, Commission chairman John Grant said.
“It’s been a difficult, complex and at times stressful process,” Grant said at a televised news conference in Sydney. “For our game it is the greatest deal ever done.”
Rugby league is Australia’s most-watched winter sport, attracting a cumulative audience of 128 million in 2011, according to market researcher Oztam Pty. which compiles Australian TV ratings.
Channel Nine will retain State of Origin inter-state games and continue to broadcast three free-to-air National Rugby League matches each weekend, the commission said. Fox Sports will show five games across Saturday, Sunday and Monday, while both broadcasters will show Four Nations tournament matches.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Fickling in Sydney at
dfickling@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Wong at
swong139@bloomberg.net