The opening round of the 2021 AFL Premiership Season on the Seven Network was a very welcome return for sports fans, winning its timeslots and cementing the AFL’s standing as the #1 winter sport.
The four games on Channel 7 and 7mate reached 3.8 million viewers nationally, including 2.84 million in the capital cities.
Seven’s coverage Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ranked #1 in its timeslots among all people and 25 to 54s, and captured 77% of all AFL TV viewers. Seven’s average national audience of 713,000 included solid increases in the northern states. In Brisbane, the number of people watching Seven’s coverage jumped 15% year-on-year. Across regional Australia, Seven’s audience was up 3%.
Managing director Seven Melbourne and head of network sport, Lewis Martin, said: “There’s been so much excitement in the lead-up to this season, with the return of fans at all venues and a competition that’s the most wide-open in memory, and round one did not let us down.
“It’s so good to have AFL footy back for what’s sure to be an unforgettable roller-coaster ride over the next six months. There’s only one place all Australians can enjoy all the action live and free – Seven, your home of footy.”
Seven West Media chief revenue officer, Kurt Burnette, said: “We love footy at Seven and it’s clear that many Australians feel the same.
“Once again, the AFL has demonstrated why it’s Australia’s favourite winter sport. The opening round was fantastic. The fans and our commercial partners had a great four days of footy, with the broadcast surpassing our audience forecast for our partners by 10%. AFL Armchair Critics, our cross-platform solution across broadcast, 7plus, and Twitter, is also firing, growing 114% in audience across the weekend.
“We are all very excited about what the rest of the AFL season on Seven will bring,” he said.
Seven’s AFL Audience Highlights, Round 1, 2021:
Thursday, 18 March: Richmond v Carlton
• National reach: 1.94 million
• National audience: 901,000
• Capital city audience: 680,000
• #1 program nationally in 25 to 54s
• #1 program in Melbourne and Adelaide
• Biggest Round 1 opening game audience in Brisbane since 2013
Friday, 19 March: Collingwood v Western Bulldogs
• National reach: 1.75 million
• National audience: 780,000
• National audience up 16% year-on-year
• Capital city audience: 580,000
• Capital city audience up 15% year-on-year
• #1 program nationally in 25 to 54s
• #1 program in Melbourne
• Brisbane audience up 96% year-on-year
• Sydney audience up 60% year-on-year
Saturday, 20 March: Essendon v Hawthorn
• National reach: 1.69 million
• National audience: 654,000
• National audience up 23% year-on-year
• Capital city audience: 484,000
• Capital city audience up 20% year-on-year
• #1 program in Melbourne
• #2 program nationally in 25 to 54s
• Biggest Round 1 audience in Brisbane since 2009, up 527% year-on-year
• Biggest Round 1 audience in Sydney since 2012, up 17% year-on-year
Sunday, 21 March: GWS Giants v St Kilda
• National reach: 1.3 million
• National audience: 557,000
• Capital city audience: 419,000