AFLW opener between Carlton and Collingwood was the number one TV show in Melbourne

IF there were any lingering doubters about how popular AFLW is, then they need look no further than the TV ratings for the inaugural match between Carlton and Collingwood.

AFLW - Pies vs Blues Carlton player Darcy Vescio kicks a goal in the second term & celebrates with Bella Ayre PictureWayne Ludbey

THE AFLW season opener between Carlton and Collingwood was the number one TV show in Melbourne on Friday night.

Proving just how much of a success the women’s league stands to be, the match — which was also a lock out at Ikon Park — attracted an audience of 593,000, according to MediaWeek.

The figure was over 100,000 more than the second highest rating show — Nine News.

Nationally, the game attracted an audience of 1.019 million (896k on FTA and 123k on Fox Footy).

Such was the interest at Ikon Park, with 24,500 fans packing out the stadium, the AFL is set to reassess venues for the new competition.

The AFL had been expecting about 12,000 punters to take advantage of free admission, with the game already having been moved from Collingwood’s smaller base at Olympic Park.

The crowd far exceeded expectations with up to 2000 fans locked out midway through the first quarter, prompting a public apology from AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.

Fri TV: #AFLW #AFLWBluesPies 593k: #Seven 502k Mel 424k (#1 show Mel 100k more than 9News) Ade 78k #7mate 91k (Syd 31k Bri 22k Per 35k) pic.twitter.com/aoSD52GxBd

— Mediaweek (@MediaweekAUS) February 3, 2017

Fri TV: Seven #1 21.9% 7News 858/853k 9News 771/760k ABCNews 640k BH&G 608k Vera 588k ACA 546k #AFLW 502k 7.30 468k 10News 447k Chase 438k pic.twitter.com/gEJYtq9B7F

— Mediaweek (@MediaweekAUS) February 3, 2017

Collingwood are scheduled to host another three games at 7000-capacity Olympic Park during the season, including a clash against Melbourne next Saturday night. But AFL game development manager Simon Lethlean says the league will consider shifting that game to Princes Park as part of a double-header after Carlton’s clash with Greater Western Sydney.

“We don’t want to have a game at Olympic Park if it’s going to be locking people out and unsafe so we’ll have a look at that,” Lethlean said.

“Collingwood were quite relaxed about this game. They’re quite relaxed about next week. It’s not about a home environment for them — if they can get 15,000 people, they’ll want to, so they’ll do whatever we suggest is best.” The league couldn’t have scheduled a bigger match to launch the competition, with the Blues and Magpies boasting strong fanbases and a healthy rivalry built over more than a century.

Originally published as AFLW opener between Carlton and Collingwood was the number one TV show in Melbourne