AFL overtaking NRL in QLD

[StCicatriz]

I have posted in this thread before as it really interests me.





As I have said previously I live in QLD, in a Ipswich suburb (right on border Ipswich and Brisbane) but I am ex Victorian. So whilst on the news in QLD(and I watch 7 so it is strange as they have AFL rights) all you hear is NRL and most of kids at school would say they like NRL over AFL. But the difference is not many of them play NRL a lot of kids play soccer, basketball and AFL is gaining in popularity. One of my friends is a die hard broncos supporter rusted on as people would say, but his kid now an adult never played league, played soccer instead and this seems very common.





My son plays AFL and I am amazed at amount of kids with parents born and bred in QLD now playing AFL and I am sure some of these parents would say they are Broncos supporters, so does another professional team really make that big of a difference? My biggest surprise in moving here was how big soccer was for juniors and I wonder if this isn’t a result of the NRL being the biggest comp up here until really the early 2000s (lions not bears). Ipswich corridor will be interesting due to Islander population which to me seems to be biggest participation numbers for NRL juniors, but I could be wrong it is just an observation.





My whole point of this long post is it seems to me people say they follow NRL but never have their kids play it, even though they have a team. Not sure the NRL will ever pull this back as it seems to be something that has been happening for years.

Do any of them play touch rugby?

 

[domus]

Mate, there may be some sort of presence in Brisbane but go to any small town in QLD and its GAYFL, aerial ping pong, fairy bullshit. Basically any sort of homophobic slur they can think of. They have some sort of irrational hate of the game.

People hate what they fear.

 

[domus]

One very basic fact that most Victorians cannot comprehend is SOO Game 1 gets more TV viewers than the AFL Grand Final.

It's just the NRL club competition that nobody bothers to attend then? So passionate is all I ever hear yet the crowds during covid are hard to distinguish from their crowds in a pandemic free world.

 

[domus]

Need to call a spade a spade, the AFL is not expanding the game.

The reality is it is replacing in part what it is losing to soccer by chasing what had been NRL supporters and claiming expats in QLD as a new supporter base.

Go into suburban Perth or Melbourne and you can see the battle has already been lost with the under 12’s (I’ve been a Perth junior footy coach for many years and can attest to what was heartland AFL such as Willetton, becoming Soccer central).

The VAFL refusal to grow the game by actions such as the 50 year AFL GF deal only hastens the inevitable decline to being the number 2 or 3 sport in Australia.

When is that soccer tsunami going to wipe out our native game? It's been coming for decades now. I think soccer is on life support as we speak. The local comp is appalling and getting worse. Hilarious. All that chest beating and predictions of a soccer takeover look so ridiculous.

 

[LordLucifer]

Add a new AFL club based on the Sunshine Coast and a second Brisbane based club and the game will go gangbusters up there.

 

[MSB ROYS]

Add a new AFL club based on the Sunshine Coast and a second Brisbane based club and the game will go gangbusters up there.

Very unlikely. The Suns have played for 10 seasons and their highest ladder finish is 12th. The Lions struggled for many years during this period and have only been competitive for the last 3 years.

On the other hand, I think that the AFLW could have explored three Qld sides; however, they wanted to mirror the men's competition so they are stuck with too many Victorian teams IMO.

 

[wcv1475]

Do any of them play touch rugby?

Not sure to be honest

 

[Aussie in exile]

This reeks of desperation for mine. They are expanding into their own heartlands. It'll be like AFL adding another club in Geelong - its not going to increase our supporter base. It might be good if you can add an additional game for tv to increase revenue with broadcast rights but it would cannibalise supporters, sponsor and exposure to the existing team.

I just don't see how this would help the overall reach, appeal, participation levels, investment or exposure the NRL will get from this costly venture. It just seems like they are trying to white ant the afl's expansion efforts and plug holes in a sinking ship instead of actually growing their competition.

This will only hurt the league financially and with talent drain. Already many of their foundation clubs are struggling to stay financially viable, this will sound the death noll for many of them.

V'landys thinking seems to be fish where the fish are. I have my doubts if there will be another NRL club in Brisbane any time soon. Just more hot air from him.

 

[PhatBoy]

The League World Cup is the biggest joke of all time, I’m not a fan of union either but if I had to choose one Union would be it.

See this I don’t get. All rugby union nations at full strength, you might get 7-8 competitive sides. More than league? Yes. Something to brag about? Not really.
Nevermind that having any amount of competitive sides doesn’t automatically make the product decent.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

See this I don’t get. All rugby union nations at full strength, you might get 7-8 competitive sides. More than league? Yes. Something to brag about? Not really.
Nevermind that having any amount of competitive sides doesn’t automatically make the product decent.

Not many sports have more than that in terms of competitive sides. Soccer does, but beyond that, are there any team sports at international level with more than a handful of competitive teams? Cricket can match Rugby at times, at other times there are perhaps only 3-4. Field hockey, and for that matter ice hockey, perhaps roughly the same.

 

[PhatBoy]

Not many sports have more than that in terms of competitive sides. Soccer does, but beyond that, are there any team sports at international level with more than a handful of competitive teams? Cricket can match Rugby at times, at other times there are perhaps only 3-4. Field hockey, and for that matter ice hockey, perhaps roughly the same.

remove the USA and basketball would have a whole bunch of sides in the mix.

even of those 8 in rugby, there’s never more than 3-4 with any chance of winning it really.
Cricket is an obvious parallel I guess but in the limited overs world cups when there is no team like the generational Australian or West Indies sides they’re open for basically all the top tier sides

 

[Angus Young]

How did the Brisbane Lions game on Saturday night rate in Queensland?

 

[terrybull]

Not many sports have more than that in terms of competitive sides. Soccer does, but beyond that, are there any team sports at international level with more than a handful of competitive teams? Cricket can match Rugby at times, at other times there are perhaps only 3-4. Field hockey, and for that matter ice hockey, perhaps roughly the same.

Even soccer has only achieved only 8 different World Cup Champions countries. Used to be six a long time till France and Spain got through.
But it’s usually Brazil, Germany or Italy in general.

England are like St.Kilda. 1 win in 1966

 

[TheDarkDwarf]

How did the Brisbane Lions game on Saturday night rate in Queensland?

The AFL semi-final meeting of the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions lived up to pre-match expectations with the scores level in the final minutes of the game. The Bulldogs managed to score a point and then hang on to the narrowest of victories giving them a place in a preliminary final next weekend against Port Adelaide. The metro audience was 835,000 with 471,000 in Melbourne. The audience in Brisbane was 88,000, almost double the number watching the NRL on Nine.

 

[Gigantor]

Even soccer has only achieved only 8 different World Cup Champions countries. Used to be six a long time till France and Spain got through.
But it’s usually Brazil, Germany or Italy in general.

England are like St.Kilda. 1 win in 1966

Uruguay might be a bit like Fitzroy, won theirs in the early years.

 

[terrybull]

Uruguay might be a bit like Fitzroy, won theirs in the early years.

and Brazil like Hawthorn, modern day marvels.

 

[terrybull]

and Brazil like Hawthorn, modern day marvels.

and Gold Coast like Liechtenstein… not even close!

 

[LordLucifer]

Very unlikely. The Suns have played for 10 seasons and their highest ladder finish is 12th. The Lions struggled for many years during this period and have only been competitive for the last 3 years.

On the other hand, I think that the AFLW could have explored three Qld sides; however, they wanted to mirror the men's competition so they are stuck with too many Victorian teams IMO.

I could have sworn the Lions had a three-peat of premierships but what would I know ??

If you build it, they will come !!

 

[Hoops]

The AFL semi-final meeting of the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions lived up to pre-match expectations with the scores level in the final minutes of the game. The Bulldogs managed to score a point and then hang on to the narrowest of victories giving them a place in a preliminary final next weekend against Port Adelaide. The metro audience was 835,000 with 471,000 in Melbourne. The audience in Brisbane was 88,000, almost double the number watching the NRL on Nine.

I thought nine didn't broadcast Saturday night.

 

[The_Wookie]

I thought nine didn't broadcast Saturday night.

they do during the last 6 rounds of the NRL season

 

[BringBackTorps]

Mumbrella Z. Wilson 6.8.21

Wilson said, re y/e 30.6.21 Foxtel Aust. nos.

"...a significant increase in Foxtel’s paid subscriber numbers, which increased 40% to 3.891 million, largely fuelled by growing numbers on Binge and Kayo.

1.885 million subscribers were residential or commercial broadcast Foxtel subscribers, while 2.006 million were subscribers to Kayo, Binge and Foxtel Now.

Kayo ended the financial year with 1.054 million paid subscribers, up from 419,000 paid subscribers the year prior. Binge meanwhile had 733,000 paid subscribers, compared to 56,000 at the conclusion of FY21.

Segment EBITDA for FY21 was up US$36 million, or 11%, across News Corp’s streaming products.
In Q4 specifically, streaming revenues were up 33%, an increase of $135 million year-on-year.

News Corp chief executive, Robert Thomson, said: “ We also saw record subscriber growth at Foxtel, where, at the end of June, our paid streaming subscribers reached over 2 million, an increase year-on-year of 155 percent.

“That sterling performance has clearly given us much optionality as we consider Foxtel’s future, which is certainly bright, given that revenues rose 33% in the fourth quarter. ”

The streaming update came as News Corp revealed its “most profitable” financial year in its current form, with revenues rising 4% in the full year and up 30% in the fourth quarter. Revenues were US$9.36 billion, compared to US$9.01 billion in the prior year (My emphases)".


News Corp streaming revenues up US$188m as Foxtel subscribers grow 40%
Revenue from News Corp’s streaming video on demand (SVOD) services saw growth of US$188 million, or 10% growth for the financial year ending 30 June, 2021.That was driven by a significant increase in Foxtel’s paid subscriber numbers, which increased 40% to 3.891 million, largely fuelled by...

mumbrella.com.au




The NRL, who re-negotiated a lower, covid-effected Rights' deal with Foxtel from 27.5.20, for the period 2020-2027, may be squirming at these good figures for Foxtel. The NRL claimed it got a good, 8-year deal, but refuses to provide any details, or quantum.
Goldman Sachs, R. Masters in the SMH, G. McLachlan (around 10.6.20, to a private meeting of AFL executives), & other MSM experts claimed the NRL (which was desperate- no property ownership collateral, unable to secure a low interest loan) was forced to accept a reduction of c. 25% on its previous Rights' deal. The NRL was in survival mode then.

There has been widespread MSM commentary in recent years that Foxtel was in major financial difficulties; & it had to be granted an emergency $500m loan from its parent co., NewsCorp, in 2019.
It appears, however, Foxtel's predicted demise is VERY unlikely; & it is now becoming quite profitable, & is having strong growth.

This Foxtel strong growth places the AFL in a much more promising negotiating position, as it now knows Foxtel's fortunes have considerably improved.
The NRL, however, is locked into a poor, much lower Foxtel deal until the end of 2027.

(The AFL initially renegotiated a 12-13% lower Rights' deal with Foxtel & Seven, around 9.6.20, for 2020-2022. It later renegotiated, again, 2 new Rights' deals with Foxtel & Seven to the end of 2024- a record, for any Aust. sport, of $946m for 2 years ie 2023-2024).

The AFL, therefore, will very likely be AGAIN increasing its financial strength differential, cf the NRL (& all other Aust. sports), post 2024, when it negotiates new Rights' deals.
The AFL, thus, will be in a better position for funding further expansion in NSW, ACT, & Qld.

 

[Aussie in exile]

It's certainly true that in the Australian context, all Olympic sports survive on the taxpayer teat.
None of them fend for themselves.
All have barely two cents to rub together.

I'm off the opinion that no professional sport should receive any taxpayers money in any form

 

[Football Tragic]

If COVID numbers blow up in Queensland, this will make it tough for the NRL to hold their Grand Final with a crowd.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Vindicater]

Hopefully NRL dies a slow and horrible death.

Union or nothing.

 

[Gigantor]

I'm off the opinion that no professional sport should receive any taxpayers money in any form

Probably not. Certainly at the professional level.
The grey area is funding for community facilities, which might have multiple purposes.