figures stolen from here
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...p/news-story/fd1bd7e54f49f9a5273eb56505801e32
Channel 7 audience for Friday night AFL matches on slump
COLIN VICKERY, Herald Sun
May 30, 2018 4:10pm
A SWAG of dud AFL matches has led to a massive slump in Thursday and Friday Night Football ratings for Channel 7 in Melbourne in 2018.
New figures show that Seven’s prime time AFL telecasts across the first ten rounds of the season are averaging a mere 292,000 viewers in Melbourne.
That is a huge drop from the 361,000 Melbourne viewers that watched the matches in the first ten rounds of 2017.
And the trend looks set to continue on Friday night when
cellar-dwellers Carlton take on the Sydney Swans, in what will be the club’s third Thursday or Friday night fixture in 11 weeks..
Seven’s AFL telecasts, with callers including Bruce McAvaney and Brian Taylor, have been affected by two weeks of Commonwealth Games but a much bigger issue is the huge number of fizzer matches between low-ranked teams.
The first ten rounds of the year have featured multiple matches with Carlton, as well as the 14th placed Western Bulldogs, and the seesawing Adelaide Crows (7th). The disappointing St Kilda (16th) and Giants (11th) have also featured.
Seven has pointed the finger at the AFL for the lacklustre fixture but says it is confident ratings will improve in the second half of the season.
“It has been an interrupted season with the Commonwealth Games, coming after a remarkable 2017,” a Seven spokesman said.
“As we approach the second half of the season we’re confident of another tight competition that fans will love.
“The AFL decides the fixture. They consult with a range of industry stakeholders including clubs, the AFL Players Association, broadcasters, venues etc.”
Seven got off to a cracker start with 418,000 viewers watching the Tigers versus Blues season opener but it has been downhill ever since.
Competition from the Commonwealth Games saw the Blues versus Magpies (198,000) and Crows versus Magpies (156,000) clashes rate poorly.
But Seven can’t blame the Commonwealth Games for the dismal 206,000 viewers that tuned in for the Kangaroos versus the Saints match in Round 2.
The Swans versus the Crows averaged 277,000, the Bulldogs versus the Blues 276,000 and the Crows versus the Bulldogs 314,000.
Another potential issue is one-sided matches with viewers turning off well before the finish. In round two the Kangaroos smashed St Kilda by 52 points. In round 4 the Magpies crushed the Crows by 48 points.
In round seven, the Cats obliterated the Giants by more than ten goals.
The mix of teams playing Friday night matches isn’t too different from last year but the problem is that so many, particularly the Bulldogs, are playing appalling footy and have tumbled down the ladder.
Other upcoming Thursday and Friday night matches include the Crows and Tigers, Port Adelaide and Bulldogs, the Eagles and Essendon, and the Tigers and Swans.
“With equalisation, more than ever — anything can happen and that includes Friday night,” Seven said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...r/news-story/460b5f5c33857651cfd8aba0d04829e5
TV ratings are down and AFL fixturing under scrutiny as Friday night footy fails to deliver
JON RALPH, Herald Sun
May 30, 2018 6:44pm
IF YOU want to know why the AFL makes major policy changes, follow the money.
The hastily introduced AFLW competition was about equality but also because the AFL spotted a huge commercial opportunity.
The AFLX competition that roared across the pre-season landscape is a brazen appeal to the youth demographic.
Now the AFL must take a good hard look at its Friday night fixturing and introduce some kind of flexible format to supercharge the flagging format.
Why? Follow the money.
Fox Footy and Seven are reporting back to the AFL that they are worried about falling Friday night numbers which they believe have a chilling effect on the entire weekend.
Both of the networks are well down in ratings this year on Friday night fixtures at a time when the NRL is trumpeting a better-than-ever set of viewer numbers.
Five of the Friday night/twilight games so far have been decided by more than six goals, only three of them going down to the wire.
The Dogs have kicked a total of 21 goals in three Friday night games, with another Thursday night encounter to come.
By now the AFL’s own suspicions of last November have come true:
the Friday night fixture is a stinker.
Carlton was handed four Fridays and a Thursday, St Kilda has three more Fridays in the next 12 weeks, Melbourne just a single Friday night.
The networks believe a huge Friday night game with a big controversy or star performances sparks interest that carries through the weekend — the Saturday midday radio shows are abuzz, the fans scour the Saturday papers with interest, they tune in again to the TV the following day.
Instead, with boring Friday night games featuring poor teams, they might start watching a game but often don’t reach the end.
The AFL might have ignored calls for a floating fixture before, but it sure won’t ignore ratings that are over 10 per cent down.
In simple terms, ratings down 10 per cent as a long-running trend for a $2 billion TV rights deal adds up to a heck of a lot of dollars.
A flexible formula would need to give fans up to two months notice so they could still book flights, hopefully with the AFL pushing its airline sponsor so it didn’t gouge travellers.
The AFL would never make every weekend’s Friday night fixture flexible given the issue with six-day breaks and travel.
But a flex fixture would work if the AFL warned fans on a handful of rounds there were two potential games for Friday night consideration, with a decision made eight weeks out.
In Round 21 you would flex Hawthorn vs. Geelong into the space where Essendon and St Kilda currently reside.
In Round 18 you would flex Collingwood and North Melbourne into the current St Kilda vs. Richmond Friday night spot, even if it meant the Roos and Pies played off an equal five-day break.
Right now Melbourne is the hottest side in the competition, and the broadcasters have just one chance to see them on Friday night TV this year.
It wouldn’t always be possible — as mundane as Carlton vs. Sydney sounds this Friday, there is no enticing Saturday game easily flexed into that spot.
But a random survey of mates and co-workers this week made it clear people won’t just watch the footy because it’s on.
They want to be entertained and captivated, they want to watch the big stars strutting their stuff, they are sick of the congested nature of footy.
It’s not just anecdotal — it is borne out by the ratings drop.
The downside of a flex fixture is lack of certainty for those who might travel.
But if the AFL cannot leverage its soon-to-expire airline sponsorship deal into a better deal for travellers under a flex format, then it is not trying.
Until the AFL can fix the standard of football currently boring many people to death, it must ensure its best product is on show when it matters most.
is.
