By Marc McGowan
Channel Seven is bracing for a potential AFL grand final ratings bonanza that will engage the New South Wales and Queensland growth markets, on top of the traditional football states.
The Sydney Swans-Brisbane Lions decider has the added South Melbourne-Fitzroy nostalgia, with Seven already trumpeting that all eight finals this year rated No.1 in their timeslots for all people, 25 to 54s, and 16 to 39s.
Cam Rayner’s Brisbane Lions will face off with Sydney Swans in the AFL grand final.Credit: AFL Photos
Seven West Media’s director of sport, Chris Jones, told this masthead that having Queensland and NSW clubs in the grand final was “unreal” and made the event “truly a national broadcast”.
“Imagine how good it would be if it was in prime time [at night], which clearly is the preference?” Jones said.
“I think it’s amazing [to have the Swans and Lions in the grand final] because we’ve got two Victorian teams represented in South Melbourne and Fitzroy, and we’ve got Sydney and Brisbane represented, so there’s a little something in it for everyone.
“Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, historically, will watch the grand final, regardless of who’s playing. NSW and Queensland are very much our growth markets, and we’ve seen fantastic results there this year.”
AFL boss Andrew Dillon was spruiking “potentially the biggest grand final audience of all time,” in an interview with Seven News.
The opening bounce of Saturday’s grand final will be at 2.30pm.
Two of the best-performing grand finals as far as TV ratings were the 2005 match between Sydney and West Coast, and last year’s clash between Brisbane and Collingwood, which both reached a national viewership of almost 3.4 million, excluding streaming figures.
An AFL spokesperson told this masthead the Saturday preliminary final was played at 5.15pm for the second straight year, after stating at 4.45pm in 2022, to allow interstate teams to travel home on Saturday night.
The match would have been at 4.40pm if Greater Western Sydney, rather than the Lions, were playing for travel reasons, the spokesperson said, but it is not certain it would have been held at night if, say, two Victorian clubs were facing off.
The league is pleased with how that timeslot has performed across the season, but the spokesperson said this was not a test for a potential twilight grand final.
The Brisbane-Geelong preliminary final had a twilight start time.Credit: AFL Photos
Saturday’s Brisbane-Geelong preliminary final reached 3.22 million people nationally, according to Seven, with a national TV audience of 1.32 million, while Friday night’s Sydney-Port Adelaide match hit 3.02 million, including a national audience of 1.18 million.
Jones said a twilight grand final was Seven’s preference over a daytime start, but a prime-time decider was still the top priority.
“From a free-to-air perspective, a prime-time grand final would allow more Australians to see the grand final than a twilight grand final [but] a twilight grand final would allow more Australians to watch the grand final than a daytime grand final,” Jones said.
2024 AFL finals TV ratings on Seven
Thursday, September 5 – Geelong vs Port Adelaide: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 2.6 million, national audience 773,000.
Friday, September 6 – Hawthorn vs Western Bulldogs: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 2.43 million, national audience 954,000.
Saturday, September 7 – Brisbane Lions vs Carlton: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 2.38 million, national audience 855,000.
Saturday, September 8 – Sydney Swans vs GWS GIANTS: National reach 1.85 million, national audience 683,000.
Friday, September 13 – Port Adelaide vs Hawthorn: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 2.62 million, national audience 1.07 million.
Saturday, September 14 – Brisbane Lions vs GWS GIANTS: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 2.6 million, national audience 912,000.
Friday, September 20 – Sydney Swans vs Port Adelaide: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 3.02 million, national audience 1.18 million.
Saturday, September 21 – Brisbane Lions vs Geelong: #1 program in all people, 25 to 54s and 16 to 39s. National reach 3.22 million, national audience 1.32 million.
“Being at the MCG yesterday [Saturday] was an extraordinary spectacle, having half-time in darkness.
“You could produce an incredible half-time show in the middle of what was an incredible game of footy that will always be the centrepiece.”
The twilight slot appeals to families who can go to the game and still have the kids in bed at a reasonable hour. However, the AFL Fans Association has consistently argued for the grand final to remain in its traditional daytime spot.
The 5.15pm preliminary final start was not as fruitful for Carlton North pub The Great Northern Hotel, with general manager Paul Capovilla saying he would prefer the first bounce to be closer to 3pm or after 7.30pm.
“There were two main issues,” Capovilla said.
“There was a slight overlap with the Wallabies playing, which was painful, and we were booked out for that, then the other main issue was, because of volume, we turn the kitchen into a reduced menu. However, when the game finished at [about] 8pm, it’s hard to go back to a dinner service then, so it throws things out of whack.
“The night died off pretty quickly, which is uncommon for a Saturday. We usually pump hard to 12.30am, but we finished about an hour-and-a-half early, and we made less than I forecasted.”
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