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The big AFL final could have been held for the LAST TIME in the afternoon, as appalling TV ratings push for a permanent switch to night play – and numbers prove the Swans do NOT have much support in Sydney
- The 2022 AFL final was one of the lowest-rated finals in history
- Nearly a million fewer people voted in favor of the premiership decision this year
- Horrible reviews have rekindled calls for a permanent switch to a night game
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Saturday’s AFL premiere decision was one of the lowest-rated grand finals in history with nearly a million fewer people tuning in compared to 2021 — a resurgence of calls for a permanent switch to a night game.
OzTam ratings released Sunday showed that 2.179 million people saw Geelong beat Sydney in the metropolitan crowd of five cities.
The numbers are a huge blow to the game’s return to its traditional 2:30 p.m. timeslot after being held overnight for the past two years due to Covid restrictions.
The Cats celebrate 2022 AFL premiership after defeating the Swans. The ratings were horrendous compared to 2021 and 2020, when both grand finals started in the evening on the East Coast
Just over three million viewers tuned in last year when the action in the Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs battle kicked off on the east coast at 7:15pm.
An average of 2.979 million viewers watched the 2020 premiership decision between Richmond and Geelong, which began at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.
And there were only 375,000 viewers for the match in Sydney despite the Swans playing, compared to 414,000 for the Penrith vs Souths preliminary final later on Saturday night.
Channel 7 boss James Warburton has pushed for a later start to the game, but said the station will always support the AFL’s decision on when to play, despite the shocking numbers for the Cats’ victory.
“The numbers and comparisons are clear to everyone to support a prime-time AFL grand final,” Warburton said.
The 2021 AFL Grand Final match between the Melbourne Demons and Western Bulldogs attracted 3,006 million viewers
“It’s a national contest and a twilight or primetime bounce will maximize audience for the code.”
Warburton’s preference for a later start to the grand finale is not set out in the AFL’s latest TV rights deal, which was signed earlier this month.
“On the face of it, the ratings for yesterday’s grand final are a bit of a disappointment, especially given that Sydney has competed in some of the best grand finals of all time,” TV pundit Colin Vickery told the BBC. Herald Sun.
The 2020 AFL Grand Final between the Richmond Tigers and the Geelong Cats drew 2.979 million viewers
“There are likely a number of factors at play, including last year’s closes leading to particularly strong numbers for the 2021 Grand Final (particularly in Melbourne), the fact that Victoria is in the middle of school holidays and many families would be away in abroad, the one-sided nature of the match (actually over in fifteen minutes), and that no metro Melbourne teams were involved.’
A shocking phone call from Seven’s streaming service 7 Plus did nothing to help the ratings, with many fans unable to watch the game while only seeing the station’s Border Force show.
The footy’s move during pre-game entertainment came despite Seven clearly stating on their 7Plus website that the grand finale would be available on the streaming service.