2018 AFL Crowds & Ratings thread

[precarious]

Level 1 Seats Counted: 14,223
Level 1 Seats Grayed Out: rough estimate 730
Level 1 Standing Room Area: extends behind an area roughly 208 seats long

Stand Seats Counted: 7,061, which includes:
-- Cumberland 2,619
-- Martin & Angus 848
-- Sinclair 846
-- Vincent Fairfax 1,049
-- Suttor 850
-- Members 849

So your total is 21,284 that leaves 2714 to get to the official capacity of 24,000 Maybe they also sell some standing room as well.

The 21,284 are what can be counted exactly. That doesn't include about 730 (estimating) in grayed out areas on level 1 and a designated standing area extending the length of about 208 seats.

So for public and members that makes 22,014 seats plus whatever fits in the standing area.

Then there are corporate areas that could not be counted (Charley Room/Corporate Suites, Sydney Royal Stand, BBQ Terrace, Jamison Room, See Room, Council Rooms). These have outside seating and indoor viewing areas that cannot be counted from the map. I'll be able to estimate the outdoor corporate seating next time I am at the stadium.

 

[Cmarsh]

Surely you don't keep doubling down on carlton though?

Even so you may have a situation where they start firing one year when noone expected them to. Then you're left with a big 4 club who are performing well but aren't scheduled in any prominant timeslots. This would mean a missed opportunity.

 

[Our Game]

Surely you don't keep doubling down on carlton though?

The Carlton Friday night matches were a big mistake. One would have been enough I dont think anyone apart from Blues fanatics were thinking they would make the 8 this year.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Even so you may have a situation where they start firing one year when noone expected them to. Then you're left with a big 4 club who are performing well but aren't scheduled in any prominant timeslots. This would mean a missed opportunity.

That is the mistake. They need to stop predicting big ladder changes and just play it safe

 

[Billy ray]

They could get half the friday night slots right by scheduling one as a derby, one as a showdown, a sydney gws game and, yes, even a qclash plus a couple each for the two grand final sides and the two prelim finals sides that lost (and these would be against top 8 sides from previous year) plus recent rival games that seem to deliver like ess v hawks. Remainder should be at least featuring every team at least once

 

[Fozdog]

They could get half the friday night slots right by scheduling one as a derby, one as a showdown, a sydney gws game and, yes, even a qclash plus a couple each for the two grand final sides and the two prelim finals sides that lost (and these would be against top 8 sides from previous year) plus recent rival games that seem to deliver like ess v hawks. Remainder should be at least featuring every team at least once

That sort of common sense will get you nowhere in the AFL.

 

[The_Wookie]

They could get half the friday night slots right by scheduling one as a derby, one as a showdown, a sydney gws game and, yes, even a qclash plus a couple each for the two grand final sides and the two prelim finals sides that lost (and these would be against top 8 sides from previous year) plus recent rival games that seem to deliver like ess v hawks. Remainder should be at least featuring every team at least once

Wont happen. Friday night fixturing focussing on Victoria are the compromise you get for offering guaranteed FTA coverage to non victorian teams every week. No such guarantee exists for Victorian teams.

 

[Rob]

Wont happen. Friday night fixturing focussing on Victoria are the compromise you get for offering guaranteed FTA coverage to non victorian teams every week. No such guarantee exists for Victorian teams.

That doesn't make any sense. The compromise you speak of is Channel 7 choosing games involving Victorian teams to broadcast nationally, knowing that they still get to screen local teams in their own markets. Scheduling on Friday nights has nothing to do with that because there's only ever 1 game on.

 

[The_Wookie]

That doesn't make any sense. The compromise you speak of is Channel 7 choosing games involving Victorian teams to broadcast nationally, knowing that they still get to screen local teams in their own markets. Scheduling on Friday nights has nothing to do with that because there's only ever 1 game on.

Sorry I left out the part where the Victorian market (noting that Vic regional broadcasts are also mirrored in Tasmania) is the largest AFL one in the country, and the most lucrative from an advertising perspective.

 

[Rob]

Sorry I left out the part where the Victorian market (noting that Vic regional broadcasts are also mirrored in Tasmania) is the largest AFL one in the country, and the most lucrative from an advertising perspective.

You mean a completely different argument to the one you just stated? Anyone would think you're just making it up on the run.

If it's a commercial decision, then so be it. But it's not as simple as just screening 2 Victorian clubs and pissing in the ratings in Melbourne.
Last year the highest rating Friday night game (5 city) was Sydney v Adelaide. Rated pretty well in Melbourne too. For any given match, most Victorians aren't supporters of either team - they just want to watch a good game like the rest of us. A showdown in Friday night would obviously rate significantly higher nationally than this week's offering of Essendon v St Kilda, and I reckon there's an extremely high chance it would rate higher in Melbourne alone.

 

[Rabman]

Wont happen. Friday night fixturing focussing on Victoria are the compromise you get for offering guaranteed FTA coverage to non victorian teams every week. No such guarantee exists for Victorian teams.

Fair enough not Friday night but a Thursday Night Showdown would be ideal, would rate a lot better than any game involving Carlton, St,Kilda, Bulldogs.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Showdowns and Derby's are usually very good games to watch.

Should be stand alone, on the national stage, free to air, and built up as the game of the week

Thursday or Friday night is an absolute no brainer imo

 

[TigerTime_89]

MCG Attendence Predictions:
Hawthorn v Geelong: 60K
Melbourne v Sydney: 46K

 

[The_Wookie]

Fair enough not Friday night but a Thursday Night Showdown would be ideal, would rate a lot better than any game involving Carlton, St,Kilda, Bulldogs.

The league doesnt need it to though. It rates through the roof in the primary adelaide market, and sells out crowd wise. Its literally already delivering for the league. Similar to how the WA teams are rating well and drawing well in the sunday afternoon/Sunday evening (AEST) slot.

 

[The_Wookie]

You mean a completely different argument to the one you just stated? Anyone would think you're just making it up on the run.

I mean the part that is blindlingly obvious and didnt need stating at all.

If it's a commercial decision, then so be it.

Of course it is. Its also the fact that the fixtures for these teams deliver big crowds in timeslots that dont draw big in other areas - and crowds are just as important to the league as tv ratings in many respects.

 

[Rabman]

2017 Perth Crowds Round 20: 687,374

2018 Perth Crowds Round 20: 941,368

Increase of 253,994. Crowds this year up overall 158,790 from last year, meaning 95,204 shortfall collectively throughout the other states.

 

[____]

They could get half the friday night slots right by scheduling one as a derby, one as a showdown, a sydney gws game and, yes, even a qclash plus a couple each for the two grand final sides and the two prelim finals sides that lost (and these would be against top 8 sides from previous year) plus recent rival games that seem to deliver like ess v hawks. Remainder should be at least featuring every team at least once

Showdown needs Friday night status but let's be real here, Lions v Suns is NOT a rivalry let alone a fixture that deserves Friday night status. Look at our crowd attendances this season, our lowest home crowd (not counting GWS) was against you guys, while our biggest crowd was against the Pies in the exact same timeslot. If our fans can't consider it a rivalry how can neutrals get fired up about it.

I do think we should get a Friday game (or Easter Thursday back) but that game should be against our actual arch rival, Collingwood

 

[Billy ray]

Showdown needs Friday night status but let's be real here, Lions v Suns is NOT a rivalry let alone a fixture that deserves Friday night status. Look at our crowd attendances this season, our lowest home crowd (not counting GWS) was against you guys, while our biggest crowd was against the Pies in the exact same timeslot. If our fans can't consider it a rivalry how can neutrals get fired up about it.

I do think we should get a Friday game (or Easter Thursday back) but that game should be against our actual arch rival, Collingwood

yeh I totally agree, but the media want it to be a rivalry because, you know, Qld....so it must be....

 

[Rob]

I mean the part that is blindlingly obvious and didnt need stating at all.



Of course it is. Its also the fact that the fixtures for these teams deliver big crowds in timeslots that dont draw big in other areas - and crowds are just as important to the league as tv ratings in many respects.

There's clearly more to it than commercial reasons though. Maybe it's relentless lobbying from clubs on the AFL's doorstep.
But you can't tell me that the reason Carlton got 4 Friday night games was remotely due to anything commercial. Irrespective of who the team is, it's pretty clear that rubbish teams don't rate. You'd know this as well as anyone.

 

[The_Wookie]

There's clearly more to it than commercial reasons though. Maybe it's relentless lobbying from clubs on the AFL's doorstep.
But you can't tell me that the reason Carlton got 4 Friday night games was remotely due to anything commercial. Irrespective of who the team is, it's pretty clear that rubbish teams don't rate. You'd know this as well as anyone.

I also know that when you do the fixture half a year in advance you cant predict all factors, including form slides and big injury lists. Then there are other factors around public holiday events and byes, plus the AFL believing that sides like Carlton have a large enough support base to warrant the tv time.

 

[Billy ray]

I wish the AFL would take account of public holidays outside of Victoria

 

[Ned_Flanders]

I wish the AFL would take account of public holidays outside of Victoria

this is just baffling that they dont

 

[The_Wookie]

this is just baffling that they dont

I wonder though if there is a tacit agreement between the AFL and the WAFL/SANFL not to fixture on these days in those states as the state league generally hold major fixtures of their own on these days.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

I wonder though if there is a tacit agreement between the AFL and the WAFL/SANFL not to fixture on these days in those states as the state league generally hold major fixtures of their own on these days.

good call, but havent there been issues in the past with ekka and labour day in qld (i remember something about one of the eastern states in recent years, but going mental blank on which one)

 

[Our Game]

Interesing that the ratings have improved.
State of the game: Ratings ease AFL's concerns

The AFL has told the clubs that their broadcast audience, down for much of 2018 in a slump arguably tied to the state of the game, has lifted over the past three to four weeks.

In a change that might reflect the improved quality of games over the past month, the AFL gave a presentation to club chief executives in which they were told that the television audiences – and the numbers of people viewing games on tablets and phones — had increased during recent weeks.

The rise in ratings and in the viewership on devices in the past few weeks follows a season-long debate about the look of the game and potential rule changes, with the improved ratings coinciding with a push-back against the more radical potential changes, such as starting positions at all stoppages – which appears to have been put on the back-burner for 2019 as the AFL pushes more incremental changes.

The AFL gave the clubs details of the broadcast numbers – including for mobiles and tablets – and discussed the long-term outlook for broadcasting.

The clubs were told that the 2019 fixture would remain in the same format as this year’s version, with two byes and a ‘‘weighted’’ schedule in which the teams that play twice are decided by ladder position, with the 18 teams divided into three groups of six.

The AFL’s football boss Steve Hocking also told the clubs about the proposed rule changes such as the ‘‘six-six-six’’ format at centre bounces and the enlarged goal square – changes that will be trialled this weekend again in the VFL game between the Northern Blues – Carlton’s reserves team – and Coburg.