Report reveals true value of Friday night footy to clubsEliza Sewell
Herald-Sun
July 16, 2015 ANALYSIS commissioned by AFL clubs reveals the true value of Friday night football and why teams are furiously pitching for the timeslot.
A report prepared for one AFL club estimated Friday night matches last year on average created $1.2m in broadcast value for each club’s sponsors.
Friday night was three times more valuable than Saturday night and while Saturday afternoon is popular with fans, its media value on average was $1m less than Friday’s marquee slot.
The Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon had a value of $1.23m, but the average for a public holiday game was $615,000.
Clubs use the data to attract sponsors and to renegotiate larger deals from current partners.
Some clubs have a bonus scheme in place if they reach a certain media exposure value.
The intelligence was compiled by Repucom, a global sponsorship and marketing company that counts the AFL, EPL, NBA and MLB as clients.
The media value tracks the exposure the club’s sponsors receive during the broadcast.
That calculation takes into account the cost of advertising during the broadcast, television audience and numerous other factors such as size of sponsor logo on screen and the amount of time logos are on screen.
While the methodology can be head scratching, the message is clear.
Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon on Wednesday said he received an email from a woman recently about her six-year-old son. The boy had become so obsessed with the Western Bulldogs and Jake Stringer that she put a ban on him watching for a few days.
But of course he broke the ban at 3am one morning, sneaking into the lounge to watch the Western Bulldogs v Brisbane replay.
“If we didn’t get some kind of free to air TV (we wouldn’t have him),” Gordon said.
‘We’ve got him for life now I reckon and we love it.
“There are kids who are forming bonds with Collingwood and Hawthorn and not us because we’re not getting that opportunity (on free to air TV) as much as they are, and it’s basically not fair.”
TV audiences on a Friday night have soared as high as 1.3 million this year (Hawthorn v Collingwood).
That’s a big number, but Friday night also help clubs through attendance returns.
One Victorian club earned double in gate receipts from a Friday night game last year compared to a Saturday night fixture against a similar placed Victorian side.
Industry figures say merchandise sales also increase on a Friday night while corporate functions bring in extra cash with business people more likely to attend after work on a Friday than re-suit for a Saturday or Sunday event.
“We have lost out in terms of sponsorship to clubs who quite frankly, don’t need it quite as much as we do, with CEOs saying to us ‘we’d love to back your brand, we love what you’re doing in the west, but you just haven’t got the numbers that some of these others get by the fixturing of free to air games on Friday nights and Saturday nights,” Gordon said.
“It’s no accident that it’s the clubs that are getting the Friday night free to air who are getting the big corporate sponsorships.”
North Melbourne chief Carl Dilena said with TV ratings and attendance, Friday night games were huge.
“It’s good in broad exposure for the club in terms of growing your supporter base and members,” Dilena said.
“It’s also a good experience for players, usually playing in front of a bigger crowd in a high profile timeslot.”
AFL fixture boss Simon Lethlean said it wasn’t as simple as granting club wishes.
“We have to get 110 Victorian games away, which means there’s always going to be Friday nights, which is probably why Carlton and Richmond got a few more this year than they otherwise might have,” Lethlean said.
“There was Thursdays, there was more Saturday afternoon games involving Essendon, Collingwood, Hawthorn and so someone from Victoria’s got to play in those games, which is sort of half the answer to the Carlton question that keeps on coming.
“To get that amount of games away in Victoria you’re got to have 10-12 or more Friday nights
“To get the Friday nights to be the quality they need to be from an attendance point of view and TV point of view, and then also that you’re close enough to them being the best games they can be, some of the big Victorian teams are the obvious teams that fall into those slots.
“Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, but Hawthorn tend to get less because they play four games in Tassie.
“Carlton, Richmond Geelong — Geelong fans don’t necessarily love Friday nights in Melbourne because they can’t get here, so you start eliminating clubs pretty quick.
“By design, Carlton, who weren’t hopeless last year, probably got a few more than their form deserved, but for reasons other than their form because they’re a big club and they’re at the MCG and they’re at Etihad. That’s sort of how it plays out.
“It’s not as simple as people think.”
“Like Hawthorn-Geelong start on Easter Monday, which means you can’t actually get them back to a Friday for four weeks based on days breaks anyway, there’s all those things that are weaved into the fixture.”
BANG FOR BUCKEstimated value for individual clubs from match broadcasts
Friday night$1.2m Average
$2m High (Carl v Coll)
$615k Low (WC v Rich)
Public holiday$615k Average
$1.23m High (Coll v Ess)
$206k Low (StK v Bris)
Saturday night$380k Average
$1.1m High (Ess v Rich)
$32k Low (Bris v GWS)
Thursday night$341k Average
$453k High (Adel v Coll)
$216k Low (Frem v Carl)
Sunday twilight$216k Average
$464k High (Frem v Haw)
$38K Low (WB v GWS)
Saturday twilight$187k Average
$369k High (Adel v Melb)
$59k Low (GWS v Coll)
Sunday afternoon$170m Average
$398k High (Ess v Coll)
$54k Low (Haw v WB)
Saturday afternoon$150k Average
$314k High (PA v Frem)
$60k Low (NM v StK)
Note: Figures are estimated value for club sponsors in 2014
Source: Repucom report prepared for an AFL clubFRIDAY NIGHT WINNERS AND LOSERS IN 20157 Richmond
6 Collingwood, Carlton
4 Hawthorn, Geelong
3 Sydney
2 Essendon, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, West Coast
1 Adelaide, Fremantle, Melbourne, St Kilda
0 Western Bulldogs, Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast, GWS
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