- Moderator
- #1
Where is the Barassi Line and how has it changed?
Australian rules authorities have actively attempted to shift the Barassi Line.As early as 1903, Australian rules administrators began investing in game development, spending more than £10,000 on footballs, jumpers, and school coaches to promote the code in Sydney.
In the past decade, the AFL has distributed A$220 million in additional funding to its four northern expansion clubs (the Sydney Swans, GWS Giants, Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns).
Yet despite ever-increasing media coverage and professionalisation, it is remarkable how intact the line remains.
Come 2019, AFL free-to-air telecasts averaged 261,000 Melbourne viewers, compared with 21,000 and 23,000 in Sydney and Brisbane, respectively (when not featuring a local team).
Similarly, NRL matches held an average rating in Sydney of about 197,000, compared with ratings typically between 5,000 and 20,000 across southern markets.