Resource 2017 AFL and AFLW Crowds and Ratings

[gaelictiogar]

I'm the other way around with this weekend's games.

31 of the Swans' 38 games at the MCG have been larger than 28k. Include Docklands and it's 65 of 80 games. 28k would be their lowest crowd against a 'big 4' team at MCG/Docklands ever. If you're a bigger team and you fail to get 30k against the Swans it's a poor crowd no matter what.

On the other hand, before Geelong started their run at the top mid 40s was standard for Collingwood-Geelong. It's difficult to find comparable games given both clubs spent nearly a decade in finals at the same time and together produced what I think is the greatest run of crowds in the history of the game from 2007-2012.

But from 1998-2005 (where quite neatly usually one of the teams was good and the other not) in Melbourne the crowds go - 44k, 34k, 50k, 65k, 43k, 45k, 50k, 48k. So I think mid 40s is still clinging to reasonable, even if it's sitting at the low end of that scale.

I take your point about the scarcity of sub 30K crowds for Sydney but to be honest Manic I truly believe that in the short to medium term Carlton is in real serious trouble.

It is a big club, an elite club and no one in his right mind thinks otherwise. We all know that there are Carlton fans in every office factory and shop in Melbourne and they would be back given the motivation but where is it coming from?

I detect a real deep demoralisation in their fanbase. They don't accept the rebuilding guff. They see year after year of awful stuff served up. They seem resigned rather than angry. We had it for ages at Richmond. That sense of just knowing that your club is drifting onto the rocks. It is hard to change course and hard to motivate a crowd.

You are almost always closer than most in your predictions but I will be amazed if they better 28K.

 

[Garlic muncher]

Fri TV #AFL #AFLGiantsDogs Seven 491k (Mel 369k Ade 122k) 7mate 190k (Syd 42k Bri 34k Per 114k)

Very good secondary channel ratings in Perth for 2 teams with no real WA connection.

 

[Crawb]

Decent support for GWS at the game. Was spilt about 70-30. Fair to say Canberra seems to have picked a team for the next few decades at least I'd say. Plenty of kids on-board the GWS train too. AFL will be very happy.

GWS-Canberra arrangement is an absolute model of how clubs and govts can sell games effectively and both benefit.

 

[Teagueeee15]

Decent support for GWS at the game. Was spilt about 70-30. Fair to say Canberra seems to have picked a team for the next few decades at least I'd say. Plenty of kids on-board the GWS train too. AFL will be very happy.

GWS-Canberra arrangement is an absolute model of how clubs and govts can sell games effectively and both benefit.

I agree with you that it's a very good model because the club has embraced the area, just like Hawthorn has with Tasmania. Previous teams who have sold games there seemed to have a get in, grab the cash and get out mentality. Hopefully the AFL keeps fixturing interesting games there for the long term health of the game in Canberra, we don't want to see the same teams getting steamrolled every year like we seem to see in Launceston.

 

[mxett]

Fri STV #AFL #FoxFooty #AFLGiantsDogs National 326k: Metro 264k (Syd 24k Mel 138k Bri 25k Ade 35k Per 43k)

 

[welshm69]

Just thinking tonight's game at Etihad, will they bother opening all the gates and level 3? What a Saturday night fixture this is!!!

 

[Parish2McGrath]

Just thinking tonight's game at Etihad, will they bother opening all the gates and level 3? What a Saturday night fixture this is!!!

This could legit be a 12-17k crowd at best. Why on earth would Channel 7 pick this over the Derby?

 

[Parish2McGrath]

390k regionals for last's nights game. WOW.

 

[Garlic muncher]

390k regionals for last's nights game. WOW.

?

 

[NoobPie]

This could legit be a 12-17k crowd at best. Why on earth would Channel 7 pick this over the Derby?

It's not clear that channel 7 actually gets to pick it - foxtel aren't merely getting lumped with the weakest 5 games each week given they pay a significant amount more than 7 nowadays and don't get the GF. If 7 do pick them, I suspect they figure that they get the derbies in their home markets anyway

That being said, I have always found it annoying that I can't watch these games unless I have access to foxtel. They should be marketed as national events.

 

[NoobPie]

390k regionals for last's nights game. WOW.

Canberra, no doubt.

If that is an average, the game ends up with a total average audience of ~1.4m.

I think it shows a maturing of the game's support that one of the least supported teams traditionally and a new club with very modest support can pull numbers like this, following the record numbers for the game last year. It appears there is significantly higher proportion of the games support who will chose based on the quality of the game where as historically club support determined that the big 4 would get prime time games where ever they were because tribalism dominated viewing habits

 

[Our Game]

I t

Canberra, no doubt.

If that is an average, the game ends up with a total average audience of ~1.4m.

I think it shows a maturing of the game's support that one of the least supported teams traditionally and a new club with very modest support can pull numbers like this, following the record numbers for the game last year. It appears there is significantly higher proportion of the games support who will chose based on the quality of the game where as historically club support determined that the big 4 would get prime time games where ever they were because tribalism dominated viewing habits

I think you are on the money TV advertisers want a good national spread to sell their goods and the AFL provides this like no other football code.

 

[The_Wookie]

390k regionals for last's nights game. WOW.

So Metro was 681,000
Fox was 326,000

regional was only about 200k.

 

[BringBackTorps]

Lets get a bit of perspective 14,000 for AFL in Canberra pop 300,000
Only 10,500 at SFS tonight for two traditional Sydney NRL rivals Eels v Bunnies Sydney pop 5 Million

Thats a bloody good crowd on a freezing night in the nations capital
It looked great on TV and was just a wonderful advertisment for Australian Football,tough,skilfull,fast and close.
I dont think Manuka Oval needs a lot spent on it as a 20 -25,000 capacity stadium would be ideal for a city the size of Canberra

We should not compare WA, SA, Vic. crowds with Syd. NRL crowds.

Ratings were excellent, over 1,200,000 - for 2 lowly supported clubs (last years Prelim. a record 2,350,000 -incredible, 2nd highest rating ever, for a non GF).

Crowds should be viewed in an historical perspective -poor.
The comparison should only be "like-for-like" WA, SA, & Vic.70's -pre 1987 crowds; cf WA, SA & Vic. AFL crowds 2017.

There has been a SIGNIFICANT PER CAPITA decline in attendances ( Perth 1970 -2017 pop. more than doubled; Adelaide 1970 -2017, pop.60%+; Melb. pop. 1970 c.2,200,000 -now c. 4,720,000: 1970 VFL c.130,000 pw & also VFA crowds in 70's, c.30,000 pw)
We should not accept this significant decline -& the AFL Commission must be held accountable. Facilities & public transport to grounds (centre of city!) FAR better now.
If Perth Stadium regularly has c.60,000 crowds, then Perth is better -but still behind per capita. But I doubt it will average over 56,000 pw: Subiaco rarely over 40,000 -capacity 43,000. I hope I am wrong.

 

[kaypee]

We should not compare WA, SA, Vic. crowds with Syd. NRL crowds.

Ratings were excellent, over 1,200,000 - for 2 lowly supported clubs (last years Prelim. a record 2,350,000 -incredible, 2nd highest rating ever, for a non GF).

Crowds should be viewed in an historical perspective -poor.
The comparison should only be "like-for-like" WA, SA, & Vic.70's -pre 1987 crowds; cf WA, SA & Vic. AFL crowds 2017.

There has been a SIGNIFICANT PER CAPITA decline in attendances ( Perth 1970 -2017 pop. more than doubled; Adelaide 1970 -2017, pop.60%+; Melb. pop. 1970 c.2,200,000 -now c. 4,720,000: 1970 VFL c.130,000 pw & also VFA crowds in 70's, c.30,000 pw)
We should not accept this significant decline -& the AFL Commission must be held accountable. Facilities & public transport to grounds (centre of city!) FAR better now.
If Perth Stadium regularly has c.60,000 crowds, then Perth is better -but still behind per capita. But I doubt it will average over 56,000 pw: Subiaco rarely over 40,000 -capacity 43,000. I hope I am wrong.

Take it easy. The world has changed. All games live, people work over weekends (I'm working now), weekend shopping, more migrants who take a while to warm to the local games, Saturday shopping, cost of living, more school sports over weekends, geographically cities are now huge etc. when I was young Ringwood was considered boondocks, now it's a middle suburb.
the only criticism I've got in terms of attracting crowds is that the AFL should have built/ kept a stadium in Waverley/ Dandenong and should probably build one now in werribee or somewhere out there

 

[The_Wookie]

Extension of the working week, migration from countries with little to no exposure to the footy - especially in the 80s and 90s, the advent of other professional sports into Victoria, plus widespread live television are all factors in the decrease in attendances per capita. Live tv sport was non existent in the 70s.

Not to mention a drop in the number of games per week from 6 in Melbourne every weekend before 1987, down to 3 or 4 each week, and an overall reduction from 132 games per H&A season to less than 100.

 

[manicmagpie]

32,678 at the G. Right in line with the initial and most reasonable prediction by the MCG.

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[BobbyMorri]

about where i thought it would be.

 

[VFL13]

Looks a lot less than 20k at the gabba

 

[manicmagpie]

Although that's a good crowd by recent York Park standards, it does continue the downward trend of all individual matchups in Launceston.

Last time these two teams got 17k, the time before 20k.



Hawthorn losing might actually kickstart some enthusiasm among the locals who now know it won't just be another walkover for Hawthorn. However the Hawks form is not going to entice many fans to make the trip from Melbourne.

 

[Crawb]

Looks a lot less than 20k at the gabba

Because it is. 13k. Disappointing but not too far off what we were expecting sadly.

Was a promising start to the season, but given the message we've been selling for the last decade to fans has essentially been "come and see the future stars" I can understand why the casuals are more than a little sceptical when we're now essentially saying "oh we ~actually~ mean it this time, come and see the future stars".

The downward trend of crowds will continue until we break out of the bottom 6 unfortunately which is still a few years off.

 

[wagstaff]

Looking at the Roos/GC, not sure they've got as many as the 13k they got at the Gabba, let alone for last night's Canberra match.


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[Teagueeee15]

Looking at the Roos/GC, not sure they've got as many as the 13k they got at the Gabba, let alone for last night's Canberra match.


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Mick Warner tweeted 13,900 at time of opening bounce.

 

[Gigantor]

Fri STV #AFL #FoxFooty #AFLGiantsDogs National 326k: Metro 264k (Syd 24k Mel 138k Bri 25k Ade 35k Per 43k)

Fantastic Fox ratings, but a bit disappointing that the Sydney ratings would be less than Brisbane.