Everlovin' Antichrist said:
... BIG SNIP...
Totals:
AFL: 1,048,000
League: 1,136,000
....BIG SNIP....
People like you make assumptions based on AFL having more coverage than League, and that's fine. But when they're head-to-head, League smacks AFL's arse.
South Coast Saint said:
Well blow me down and call me Charlie. I've never been so glad to admit to being wrong. I'll have to investigate that but it appears you are correct on the Friday Night footy thing. Although I was actually right in the details of my statement.
Well, you're only right because AFL gets much more FTA coverage than NRL. If the Fox ratings were factored in, it would be closer than most people think and if League had the same amount of League matches on FTA as AFL have, I have little doubt that League would win. People tend to forget that Qld Country and NSW country combined more than match Adelaide, Perth and Tasmania ratings-wise.
South Coast Saint said:
I'm still not convinced that just because NRL FNF outrates AFL FNF that makes NRL the dominant winter television code. The fact that AFL is on at a decent hour on free to air much more than league and has cumulatively a much greater audience makes it the dominant TV code. Sorry, it does. NRL figures are obviously in much better shape than I thought they were (making the mistake that I openly admit of taking OzTAM ratings and forgetting the regionals). But in the end we still have a long way to go before we can claim to be the dominant TV code.
I disagree, and I disagree vehemently.
The only reason that AFL cumulatively has more viewers than the AFL (and I've seen nothing to prove that) is because they have sometimes twice as many matches on FTA as Rugby League does.
That and the fact that AFL states are so damn insular that they can't just run League games at reasonable hours because they're shit scared that it will actually rate.
The proof is that for the past 3 years the NRL Grand Final has rated higher in Melbourne than the AFL Grand Final did in Sydney. Yet, one would assume the opposite to be true because the Swans average crowd is triple the Storm's average crowd.
And State of Origin is played near or after midnight everywhere but NSW and QLD.
Why?
Becuase they're scared of Rugby League.
The crowd average is up significantly and the FTA ratings are going up again.
AFL has been arrogant and assumed that they rule the roost and there's no argument that they do when it comes to bums on seats. But they don't in my opinion, on TV.
South Coast Saint said:
On to other things:
I find it funny being called a troll (not by Everlovin' Antichrist I don't think). I certainly am not. I'm a dedicated Saints fan. I love my league. On many other forums I am always an advocate of league over the insults of AFL and RU fans. I just think it is silly to make constant assertions about the inferiority of other sports. What does it achieve for us to be ignorant of the opposition's true position?
Actually, I believe that for far too long we have given AFL respect, respect it doesn't deserve.
AFL gets all the breaks in FTA TV. There is saturation coverage of AFL everywhere, live games for the home team in both Sydney and Brisbane but the Storm can't even get a delayed FTA game in Melbourne and if they do put a game on FTA it's always at or after midnight.
AFL runs TV, yet Rugby League regularly beats it. Everything is in AFL's favour, yet League regularly outrates it. Four of the top five Football matches on FTA TV in 2004 were Rugby League matches, yet those ratings were garnered from NSW and QLD only in the case of SOO, and NSW, QLD and Victoria only in the case of the Grand Final.
SOO is the bargaining tool in the TV ratings war to beat them all. 3 games that all put up Grand Final-esque ratings. They won't put it on in the southern states any more simply because it will rate. It rated 3 million odd Australia-wide last year for all 3 matches, in 3 states only. Only oone AFL match rated more, the Grand Final.
Respect is earned and AFL has earned nothing. It has tried to take over in NSW and QLD yet hasn't. It didn't even take over in QLD with the dominant AFL side since the turn of the century. And even then, they were regularly outrated by League match not involving a QLD side. As for Sydney their support is waning year by year. The ratings over the past few seasons have been abysmal and so far this year they're still heading downward. Their current losing streak will add to their woes.
AFL has had it far too easy for too long and still can't put League away. That's exactly why their honcho Demetriou has been sounding off about expansion to Western Sydney, the Gold Coast and New Zealand. Neither would work but he still is saying they're his options.
He has no options. League will have a Gold Coast side inside 2 years, killing AFL aspirations there, and if the AFL move a Melbourne side to Western Sydney it will draw like Club Union. At best it will halve the Swans support. Can anyone see the Swans allowing a second Sydney team when they're lucky to pull 30k to a once a fortnight match?
And New Zealand? They'd laugh AFL out of the place inside 3 years.
Demetriou is preaching to the converted. He's telling AFL fans what they want to hear, he's not prepared to tell them the reality for one reason and one reason alone, they're not used to it. If you go to bigfooty and point out what I pointed out regarding the FNF ratings, you'd be banned. That's the sort of mentality the average AFL fan has. As far as they're concerned if AFL didn't win handsomely, it didn't happen.
Don't be offended by people assuming that you're an AFL troll. You sounded like one of the many who have passed through here over the past few years.
