Talking Footy

leeroy*NRL* wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2020 5:02 pm

84K what a shocking figure they added a further 60 odd to that figure with streaming etc.

ABC telecast did not even make the top 20 which was cut off at 100k

would be the lowest grand final figure yet and what is worse it involved 2 of australia's biggest cities

Foxtel A-League grand final ratings slide 14 per cent
By Dominic Bossi
September 1, 2020

The issue of spiralling TV ratings is set to remain a headache for the A-League throughout its prolonged off-season after the 2020 grand final fell short of previous years viewing figures, despite the majority of fans being forced to watch the game away from the stadium.

Sydney FC's title triumph over Melbourne City on Sunday attracted a significantly greater number of viewers than the code's regular-season matches this year, but the Foxtel viewership was down 14 per cent compared to the 2019 grand final, and the total audience less than half that of last year's decider.


Sydney FC celebrates after defeating Melbourne City at this year's A-League grand final.CREDIT:GET

Nearly 200,000 people watched the Sky Blues' extra-time win across Foxtel, its various streaming platforms and on ABC's delayed broadcast.

A Foxtel spokesman informed the Herald 151,000 people watched the match on Foxtel. Of those, 84,000 watched via the Linear box services while 66,000 watched on either Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go or their over-the-top sports streaming service, Kayo. ABC showed the match on a two-hour delay, attracting 23,000 viewers on Sunday night. The game could also be accessed by Football Federation Australia's MyFootball app.

The combined viewers represents a 51 per cent drop from 2019 which attracted an audience of 406,000 across Foxtel and 10 Bold. While 10 Bold televised the match live last year, compared to ABC's delayed broadcast, 191,000 watched the 2019 final on Foxtel.

And while the ratings for Sunday's grand final were a significant improvement on this season's viewers, it fell short on previous years despite having the fewest number of fans allowed to watch the game at the venue. Due to crowd limits imposed by the government during the pandemic, Football Federation Australia was only permitted to allow 7,500 people inside Bankwest Stadium, a maximum of only 25 per cent of the venue's capacity.

The A-League has struggled for ratings since resuming in July, going head to head with rival codes for media space and eyeballs. Sunday's grand final was the largest audience for an A-League match since the competition's resumption in July, which began with average audiences of nearly half the figures before the COVID-19 lockdown.

According to Foxtel sources, the reopening round of the A-League on the weekend of July 17-19 attracted an average audience of 22,000 on Foxtel's platforms. Of those viewers, nearly 40 per cent watched via the company's streaming platforms: Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go and Kayo.

The A-League will be broadcast by Fox Sports next season but has no television partner beyond then.

The Herald sought comment from FFA, along with viewing figures from its MyFootball app.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/fox ... 55rdj.html