Last week’s round seven match between the Geelong Cats and Essendon at Etihad Stadium was the most-watched Friday night game in AFL history since OzTam ratings began in 2001, drawing a total audience of 1.545 million viewers across free to air and subscription television.
AFL General Manager Broadcasting, Scheduling and Major Projects, Simon Lethlean said Geelong’s victory in the match-up of the two previously undefeated teams now stood as the fifth most-watched AFL home and away match ever, slotting only behind the Anzac Day matches of 2012, 2013, 2006 and 2007.
“Every week of Friday night football through the 2013 season has drawn a total audience of more than 1.1 million viewers, but the meeting between Geelong and Essendon as the top two teams on the ladder saw the audience grow to record levels for a Friday night,” Mr Lethlean said.
Friday’s game eclipsed the previous mark of 1.522 million for the round three match between Carlton and Collingwood at the MCG in 2012 as the previous best audience for a Friday night game.
“The game’s average audience was broken down into 924,505 million metropolitan free to air viewers, 312,158 regional free to air viewers and 308,755 subscription viewers,” he said.
The leading 20 highest rating home and away matches are:
Rank | Season | Round | Match | Slot | Total |
1 | 2012 | 5 | Collingwood vs. Essendon (ANZAC) | Wed Aft | 1,736,460 |
2 | 2013 | 5 | Essendon vs. Collingwood (ANZAC) | Thur Aft | 1,673,556 |
3 | 2006 | 4 | Collingwood vs. Essendon (ANZAC) | Tue Aft | 1,643,439 |
4 | 2007 | 5 | Essendon vs. Collingwood (ANZAC) | Wed Aft | 1,571,089 |
5 | 2013 | 7 | Geelong Cats vs. Essendon | Fri Night | 1,545,418 |
6 | 2012 | 3 | Carlton vs. Collingwood | Fri Night | 1,522,151 |
7 | 2012 | 8 | Collingwood vs. Geelong Cats | Fri Night | 1,509,344 |
8 | 2008 | 6 | Collingwood vs. Essendon (ANZAC) | Fri Aft | 1,501,145 |
9 | 2012 | 10 | St Kilda vs. Richmond | Fri Night | 1,478,710 |
10 | 2009 | 5 | Essendon vs. Collingwood (ANZAC) | Sat Aft | 1,447,377 |
11 | 2011 | 5 | Essendon vs. Collingwood (ANZAC) | Mon Aft | 1,428,815 |
12 | 2012 | 1 | Hawthorn vs. Collingwood | Fri Night | 1,412,045 |
13 | 2013 | 3 | Fremantle vs. Essendon | Fri Night | 1,344,851 |
14 | 2012 | 15 | Collingwood vs. Carlton | Fri Night | 1,328,297 |
15 | 2010 | 9 | Collingwood vs. Geelong Cats | Fri Night | 1,327,786 |
16 | 2012 | 4 | St Kilda vs. Fremantle | Fri Night | 1,312,614 |
17 | 2012 | 17 | Geelong Cats vs. Essendon | Fri Night | 1,309,512 |
18 | 2012 | 5 | Fremantle vs. Carlton | Fri Night | 1,305,557 |
19 | 2012 | 8 | Geelong Cats vs. Collingwood | Fri Night | 1,303,476 |
20 | 2007 | 12 | Sydney Swans vs. Collingwood | Sat Night | 1,300,796 |
ends
Patrick Keane
AFL Media Manager
