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ALM TV Ratings

Song said:
That is a pretty big caveat to add in, but fair.

I am of the view that football is the largest sport, in terms of participation and interest, in Australia. Where the comparisons go astray is to try and assign popularity of a sport, to the popularity of a competition. You can do it for sports with only one professional competition, but not football. The popularity of football in Australia is commonly assessed., by those with an interest in doing so, by the crowds and TV viewership of the A-League to the NRL and AFL. As much as we would love for the A-League to capture the gigantic following in the sport, for many reasons (fair or not) it does not do it (currently...).

But the TV ratings for the World Cup show that there is a huge interest in the sport that are extremely committed and willing to wake up at absurd times to follow the games. These ratings do not include the 'house-wife crowd' with little interest in the sport that will watch State of Origin or Grand Finals because it is on at a convenient time and it seems like the 'in thing' to do. This crowd do not otherwise watch the sport or care for it. The level of commitment required by football fans to achieve the WC ratings has never been tested in the other sporting codes that football in this country is regularly compared to. The best opportunity that football has had for sustained coverage at such suitable times, with mainstream media interest, was the Women's World Cup in 2023, which absolutely blasted the TV ratings and includes the largest TV audience in Australian history (and 2 of the 3 largest of all time).
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Well said. Participation numbers and grassroots passion do set football apart and it’s genuinely the biggest “play” sport. The WC ratings prove that there's a dedicated core that’s willing to sacrifice sleep, something few other codes demand at that scale.


The 2023 Matildas effect showed what’s possible with right timing and narrative. The real test remains converting that into consistent A-League engagement amid competition from entrenched codes. Fair critique of the flawed comparisons because success metrics always need nuance beyond just head-to-head TV numbers.
 
Wouldn’t it be great to see a genuine survey asking the many numbers viewing the reasons why they watched WC games……
Put aside the neutral I expect a good % have roots abroad And also what many here do not like are euro league viewers another good % most likely.
Therefore many have football in their veins or general idea.
They like to watch the big games - some say events haha
Known names.
I can’t see how you can draw a good % to the current APL.
It lacks so much these casuals get drawn by its chalk and cheese.
 
LFC said:
Wouldn’t it be great to see a genuine survey asking the many numbers viewing the reasons why they watched WC games……
Put aside the neutral I expect a good % have roots abroad And also what many here do not like are euro league viewers another good % most likely.
Therefore many have football in their veins or general idea.
They like to watch the big games - some say events haha
Known names.
I can’t see how you can draw a good % to the current APL.
It lacks so much these casuals get drawn by its chalk and cheese.
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As do many many other leagues around the world, and they have all survived for a much longer time than any Australian league.

People in this country do not understand blind loyalty to a football club.

Look at all the SMFC supporters who don't go because of what day or time the game is on.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
As do many many other leagues around the world, and they have all survived for a much longer time than any Australian league.

People in this country do not understand blind loyalty to a football club.

Look at all the SMFC supporters who don't go because of what day or time the game is on.
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Hahahahah GF.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
As do many many other leagues around the world, and they have all survived for a much longer time than any Australian league.

People in this country do not understand blind loyalty to a football club.

Look at all the SMFC supporters who don't go because of what day or time the game is on.
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The point is growth viewing support how to transfer some to the local game.
Loyalty isn’t the issue regards growth it’s about drawing people in to the pro game that I think isn’t that enticing to the on the fence people so to speak.
 
LFC said:
The point is growth viewing support how to transfer some to the local game.
Loyalty isn’t the issue regards growth it’s about drawing people in to the pro game that I think isn’t that enticing to the on the fence people so to speak.
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If they are not already, then they never will be, IMO.

Overall, This country it is not the great supporting country that it claims to be.

We go through this every year, too dear, too hot, too cold, too wet, wrong day, wife won't let me go, too many Wogs, too many racist Anglos, etc,etc,etc.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
If they are not already, then they never will be, IMO.

Overall, This country it is not the great supporting country that it claims to be.

We go through this every year, too dear, too hot, too cold, too wet, wrong day, wife won't let me go, too many Wogs, too many racist Anglos, etc,etc,etc.
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This I do concur - long ago there was the whinging Pom - Oz has surely become as such as well for quite sometime.
Pack of whingers amongst what else you quoted.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
If they are not already, then they never will be, IMO.

Overall, This country it is not the great supporting country that it claims to be.

We go through this every year, too dear, too hot, too cold, too wet, wrong day, wife won't let me go, too many Wogs, too many racist Anglos, etc,etc,etc.
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And yet the AFL is one of the best attended sports in the world....

I agree with what you are saying, but its NOT the lack of club culture, its the lack of football fan culture in my opinion...
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
And yet the AFL is one of the best attended sports in the world....
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Per capita, I think it is the highest and has been for some time.
I always wonder if that would change if another nation adopted the sport and their AFL league became the top tier for the sport.
Let's say USA adopted the sport and it caught on. All of a sudden, the best AFL players are no longer Aussies but rather Americans or Aussies playing for US teams. The best Aussie players start leaving for the US for bigger contracts. Do Aussie kids start following the big US teams rather than the local ones. Maybe, maybe not. It's interesting to think about, especially with younger generations gravitating more to individuals rather than clubs.
 
someguyjc said:
Per capita, I think it is the highest and has been for some time.
I always wonder if that would change if another nation adopted the sport and their AFL league became the top tier for the sport.
Let's say USA adopted the sport and it caught on. All of a sudden, the best AFL players are no longer Aussies but rather Americans or Aussies playing for US teams. The best Aussie players start leaving for the US for bigger contracts. Do Aussie kids start following the big US teams rather than the local ones. Maybe, maybe not. It's interesting to think about, especially with younger generations gravitating more to individuals rather than clubs.
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All I can say is that the AFL, a lonely tadpole in a vast global lake, will never have to worry about that.
 
Frankly Speaking said:
All I can say is that the AFL, a lonely tadpole in a vast global lake, will never have to worry about that.
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Yep...And as good a sport as many Australians would attest too, Australian "rules" Football will continue to be an international irrelevance....

The sport’s specific requirement of large, specialised oval grounds and complex rules do create a high barrier to entry that prevents it from competing with more globally accessible sports like football rugby and even grid iron.

And the pro international AFL advocates sometimes don't understand that it's a product that can't really be packaged, sold, and "exported" into new markets without fundamentally understanding the barriers to entry.

It's logistically impossible unless a country is willing to invest in massive oval-ground infrastructure which is a massive ask for a foreign interloping sport!

The history of the AFL's international efforts is littered with "marquee events"—exhibition matches in China, or high-profile diplomatic visits that generate headlines here in Australia but rarely translate into sustainable, local sporting ecosystems.

It's a proven failure of top-down logic!

Also AFL's massive success in Australia is built on deep, multi-generational community tribalism. International advocates often try to frame the AFL as a "premium TV entertainment product" (like a movie or a concert) that can be sold to a global audience.

But this "marketing" it abroad often fails because you cannot easily export the history, the community, and most importantly the infrastructure that allow the sport to function as it does in its home environment.
 
Frankly Speaking said:
All I can say is that the AFL, a lonely tadpole in a vast global lake, will never have to worry about that.
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Your not wrong there.
Football us life said:
But this "marketing" it abroad often fails because you cannot easily export the history, the community, and most importantly the infrastructure that allow the sport to function aas it does in its home environment.
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I think the infrastructure thing would be the biggest hurdle. Reality is that the only nations that have existing suitable sized grounds are cricketing nations. None of those have any interest in AFL and no-one else is going to sink money into some weird Australian sport.
 
someguyjc said:
Your not wrong there.

I think the infrastructure thing would be the biggest hurdle. Reality is that the only nations that have existing suitable sized grounds are cricketing nations. None of those have any interest in AFL and no-one else is going to sink money into some weird Australian sport.
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If you take England into isolation then yes, we have fairly good sized cricket grounds which could easily host a national AFL competition.

But you can’t use those grounds all year round because the grass surfaces wouldn't permit it....

It’s not just about the footprint of the land, it’s about the biological capacity of the grass to handle the specific, high-intensity trauma of AFL footy.

And exactly why the "international AFL" argument often falls apart when it hits the real world of turf management in particular climates, such as Britain's which can be often inhospitable to all year round usge if sports grounds.

You’d be needing a substantial overlay or a massive renovation of the grounds, which would destroy the surface for its primary purpose....Summertime cricket!

If you tried to play AFL in England in the winter, you’d be dealing with mud, frost, and high-frequency rainfall that would turn these quite delicate cricket grounds into quagmires within 30 minutes of a game!
 
Football us life said:
Yep...And as good a sport as many Australians would attest too, Australian "rules" Football will continue to be an international irrelevance....

The sport’s specific requirement of large, specialised oval grounds and complex rules do create a high barrier to entry that prevents it from competing with more globally accessible sports like football rugby and even grid iron.

And the pro international AFL advocates sometimes don't understand that it's a product that can't really be packaged, sold, and "exported" into new markets without fundamentally understanding the barriers to entry.

It's logistically impossible unless a country is willing to invest in massive oval-ground infrastructure which is a massive ask for a foreign interloping sport!

The history of the AFL's international efforts is littered with "marquee events"—exhibition matches in China, or high-profile diplomatic visits that generate headlines here in Australia but rarely translate into sustainable, local sporting ecosystems.

It's a proven failure of top-down logic!

Also AFL's massive success in Australia is built on deep, multi-generational community tribalism. International advocates often try to frame the AFL as a "premium TV entertainment product" (like a movie or a concert) that can be sold to a global audience.

But this "marketing" it abroad often fails because you cannot easily export the history, the community, and most importantly the infrastructure that allow the sport to function as it does in its home environment.
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International Irrelevance doesnt mean single thing to 90% of the Australian accolites of a sport founded at the "Arse end of the World" for a forgotten people used to not quite being part of Asia, not really being part of Oceania and wishing we were part of Europe... Its an Aussie game for an Aussie mentality.. International rules are for Sheilas, Wogs and Pooftas (unless its swimming or cricket)
 
Football us life said:
If you tried to play AFL in England in the winter, you’d be dealing with mud, frost, and high-frequency rainfall that would turn these quite delicate cricket grounds into quagmires within 30 minutes of a game!
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Not an insurmountable obstacle in my opinion, the first 130 years of Aussie Rules saw exactly the same issues.
 
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