Foxtel viewers flock to watch season opener between Richmond and Carlton

Footy fans have flocked to their screens in droves as the AFL and NRL season notch up huge audiences on their return.

Richmond vs Carlton at the MCG, Melbourne. Marc Pittonet of the Blues and Richmonds Toby Nankervis battle. Pic: Michael Klein.

The return of AFL blitzed it for Foxtel and was the second-highest rating season-opening game of all time.

The round one clash at the MCG between arch rivals Richmond and Carlton drew 359,000 viewers on Foxtel – falling only just behind last year’s record-breaking opener with 406,000 viewers.

The match which saw Richmond win by 25 points averaged 359,000 viewers across all Foxtel Group platforms.

Fox Sports executive director Steve Crawley said it was fantastic to have footy back in Melbourne.

Richmond beat Carlton in front of 50,000 at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein

“Last night meant a lot in Melbourne. It’s been Melbourne probably more than any other capital city in our country which has suffered through COVID with bigger restrictions,” he said.

“Melbourne love their footy and you could almost hear the sigh of relief.”

The viewer numbers didn’t eclipse last year’s season opener – likely to be due to 50,000 fans being allowed to watch the game at the ‘G, compared to last year, when fans were completely locked out.

The AFL ratings also showed Seven drew 668,000 viewers – also down on the first game last year when 801,000 viewers tuned in.

Tui Kamikamica of the Storm is tackled during the round one NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at AAMI Park in Melbourne. Picture: Getty Images

Just last week Foxtel viewers also flocked to watch the NRL’s round one games, drawing the highest-ever ratings for an opening round in subscription television history.

The season opener between the Storm and Rabbitohs was the number one game for the first round of the year reeling in an average audience of 487,000 viewers.

The success also saw round one become the second-highest NRL round rating ever with an average audience of 372,000 viewers.

While on Thursday night the Eels versus Storm game average 398,000 viewers on Nine – up 39 per cent on last year.

Audiences across all Foxtel Group platforms also soared – broadcast audiences climbed by 14 per cent while on streaming services on Kayo, Foxtel Now and Foxtel GO growth soared by 74 per cent.

The huge viewership of sports fans saw them watching games across various platforms including television and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Latest figures show Foxtel’s streaming service Kayo has grown to more than 624,000 paying subscribers at the end of December – up 79 per cent the previous year.

Across Kayo, Foxtel and Foxtel Now there are now about 2 million subscribers.

Mr Crawley said with subscriptions breaking records this would only continue to grow.

“For us to have more sports subscribers than ever before and to be breaking audience records that’s uncommon and it’s all inspirational,” he said.

“I reckon we are in for a great year.”