In terms of popularity, Aussie rules
Lara Sinclair
The Australian
January 12, 2006
JUST days after the AFL clinched a record TV rights deal, a survey shows Aussie rules is overtaking swimming as Australia's most popular sport.
Interest in Australian football surged to a new high, with 59 per cent of Australians indicating some involvement with the sport last winter, up from 53 per cent the previous year.
Swimming, the top-ranked sport for the previous three years, ranked equal second with tennis on 56 per cent, according to the six-monthly survey by sponsorship company Sweeney Sports.
A parallel survey showed that top Commonwealth Games sponsors - who committed an estimated $10 million to $20million for their involvement - have so far largely failed to generate public recognition of their sponsor status.
Telstra scored the top mark, with just 9 per cent of those surveyed able to name the company as a sponsor. Adidas and Coke were ranked third and fourth despite not sponsoring Melbourne 2006.
While the Nine Network will reap the benefits this year of the AFL's strong national competition -- teams from four states made the finals, with the Sydney Swans defeating the West Coast Eagles to win the competition - Seven and Ten's $780 million rights deal, which takes effect next year, will see them broadcasting a sport on the rise.
AFL is by far the most popular sport for television viewing and last year generated the top three most-watched programs of the TV ratings year, including the AFL grand final, which drew an average audience of 3.4 million people.
"AFL ratings would be expected to go up, but they will only get the big increases if the Swans continue to draw an audience in Sydney," said Fusion Strategy media analyst Steve Allen.
Interest in tennis was reawakened by a strong performance from locals Lleyton Hewitt and Alicia Molik in last year's Australian Open, though the sport was still well down on its high of 67 per cent in 1999 and 2000. While the match between Hewitt and eventual 2005 Australian Open winner Marat Safin took place outside the normal ratings year, it drew an audience of 4.04million last January.
"Tennis could slip; it really depends on how some of the (seeded players) do," said Sweeney Sports director Martin Hirons.
Soccer fell five points in the survey, but that was before Australia's successful qualifying bid for this year's World Cup and the start of the new national A-League competition.
"In 2002 soccer reached a 50per cent high without Australia participating (in the World Cup)," said Geoff Partmenter, head of marketing and strategy for the Football Federation of Australia. "I'd expect there'd be an increase over the next 12 months."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17796967%255E36035,00.html
