Fremantle vs Sydney game sets new TV ratings benchmarks with thanks to extra promotion from AFL
An unprecedented entry into the AFL’s toughest market as part of a wild card round swap showed what the game can achieve when it throws the legitimate weight of promoting itself in Sydney.
Thursday night’s Fremantle-Sydney match was heavily marketed as a top-flight clash across the country. In fact, it was a test pilot of sorts for the game, which was broadcast nationally in every state and capital on Seven’s main channel, a first in the Thursday/Friday night timeslot.
The audience test comes against the backdrop of the NRL’s record new $5.3 billion seven-year broadcast deal and after months of delicate negotiations between the AFL and its broadcasters as they seek a better financial deal in exchange for new wild-card games. Head office sought a payment for the two extra finals it had planned, but broadcasters – approaching the end of the second year of a seven-year, $4.5 billion media rights deal – refused.
Instead league chief Andrew Dillon received a commitment from Seven to intensify its marketing and promotional efforts towards the Sydney market. The matchup, which was scheduled to be broadcast in prime time and involved two non-Victorian clubs ranked first and second in the rankings, became the test case.
Fremantle-Sydney could be an outlier. Unusually, Thursday night’s match marked the first time since 2023 (when Collingwood faced the Brisbane Lions in round 23) that the first and second placed clubs met in the home and away round. But Seven supported the game in Sydney throughout its programme, as it did the Anzac Day or King’s Birthday games.
As a result, Thursday night’s Clash became the No. 1 ratings show across Australia, reaching 2.18 million nationwide and its strongest audience in Sydney in more than five years. Outside of the finals, it was the highest-rated prime time match since 2022; It was even more significant given the absence of a major Victorian club.
For years the head office has failed to truly understand or adequately promote the game in Sydney. As recently as this year’s opening round, the Swans were bemoaning their failure to advance in the AFL’s season opener against Carlton.
“We gave them [the AFL] Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich said they received some feedback at the start of the year that we were falling short on the marketing and promotion of the opening round.
“Ahead of the Marn Grook tour, we once again pitched what we believed the game should do. Thursday night’s results show the proof is in the pudding. With unprecedented pressure across social, digital and traditional media, everyone came together and the game became the highest-rated program in the country.”
The Giants – with much greater difficulty – also recently submitted a wish list to the AFL Commission, outlining the commercial, strategic and advertising spend required to improve the club’s foothold in the western Sydney market and increase disappointing attendance numbers.
Both clubs highlighted the latest broadcast deal which prevented Sydney fans from watching two local teams on Saturdays for free for a significant part of the season. Finally acknowledging the woeful attendance figures in Sydney’s west, the AFL has pledged to invest millions of extra dollars in game development while still facing hostility from clubs in traditional football states over their academies.
On Friday, Pavlich warned the AFL was at risk “by the law of diminishing returns if we fail to develop the game in Australia’s biggest markets”.
“I think the AFL is now really aware of the fact that developing the game against the challenges posed by the NRL and the new rights deal has to involve significant growth in Sydney and of course in Brisbane,” he added.
“While we can keep our eye on Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, the biggest advances lie north of the Murray. If we can achieve that, it’s a huge opportunity for the game.”
This year alone, AFL Media has assigned a full-time reporter to Sydney, Emily Patterson. As the Swans flew Patterson to the Fremantle game, the social media push involving both broadcasters and the AFL’s new wunderkind, Dan Gorringe, was unprecedented.
As a spectacle, the Fremantle-Sydney game did not disappoint, played with final-like intensity and marking a surprising comeback from the Dockers. And the numbers were hard to ignore.
Not only was the match the highest-rated Thursday night match in over five years, it also rated better than Anzac Day and was second only to the King’s Birthday match in overall viewing figures.
It was also the highest-rated Swans game in five years and recorded the biggest streaming figures in history outside of the finals. It was the highest-rated home-away match in Western Australia for five years, including derbies.
But most importantly, the total TV audience in Sydney alone was 103,000 – also the highest in five years – compared to the Swans’ normal viewing figures of between 55,000 and 65,000. The match will be watched closely on the main channel in the club’s hometown next Friday night when Sydney hosts Adelaide.
Obviously Seven would achieve significantly higher ratings on its main channel in Sydney without adhering to Australian football rules, but the wild card round provided a crucial give and take as the AFL looks to add value to its next broadcast deal.
Former Swans CEO turned AFL executive Tom Harley has helped lead the push to create a bigger domestic audience in the face of increasing NRL dominance.
“I believe that when it comes to non-Victorian clubs and their audiences, we’re basically trying to make them as accessible as possible. “The growth of the game is really important and we need to look at how we measure success in terms of that growth.
“Thursday night was a great showcase for the game and a great example of what we can do when we work together.”
Although AFL players will receive 31.7 per cent of the extra income from the wild card round, the players’ association has not negotiated a new agreement regarding the extra game, even though the players involved would benefit depending on their individual deals.
As the standings are available at the time of writing, both games will be played at the MCG on Friday and Saturday nights, 28 and 29 August, with Geelong taking on Carlton and the Western Bulldogs against Collingwood.
Given that 14 teams remain in contention in round 18 (four more than this time last year), the long-term benefits to the competition remain immeasurable but significant, even if the AFL fails to generate more broadcast dollars from these games. As Pavlich points out, it’s not always about short-term profits.
“What we saw Thursday night was the perfect storm,” he said. “For the two clubs involved, the AFL and the broadcasters, it wasn’t just about the money spent but the effort and focus. It’s the same thing we want going forward.”
Caroline Wilson works for both The Age and Channel Seven.
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Caroline Wilson is a Walkley-winning columnist and former chief football writer for The Age.Connect via email.
