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he opening match of the Toyota AFL Finals Series 2020, Geelong v Port Adelaide, gathered an average television audience of up to 1.49 million, out-rating all week one and two finals matches from 2019.

A 23% increase compared to the previous year’s Thursday night final, Essendon v West Coast Eagles; with a 34% increase in national free-to-air (FTA) metro audience compared to the previous year.

The Richmond v Brisbane Lions qualifying final outrated Thursday’s opening qualifying final and all finals of the previous year, raking in a national television audience of 1.541 million.

Compared to the previous year’s Friday night week 1 Final game of Collingwood v Geelong Cats, a total TV audience growth of 4% was experienced.

National television audiences were 14% higher per game compared to the previous year at the conclusion of the home-and-away season.

The Geelong Cats v Port Adelaide match attracted a total average television audience of 1.537 million, with a viewership of over 77 million for the 2020 Premiership Season.

With Foxtel gathering an average of 429,000 viewers across Foxtel, Foxtel Now/Foxtel GO and Kayo; and viewership of 303,000 on Fox Footy, a 41% increase was experienced following the 304,000 viewers of 2019.

Brisbane FTA total audience has doubled since last year, up 112%, and Sydney’s audience up 259%; presumably due to the success of the Brisbane Lions and hosting of matches in Queensland.

Melbourne viewership was up 45%, experiencing a total growth in viewership of 15% since the previous year and Adelaide was up 129%.

National television audiences experienced a 14% growth in average audience per game since the previous year, affirming a growth in demand for football in 2020.

AFL CEO, Gillon McLachlan, said: “I want to acknowledge the dedication of our football community to supporting the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.”

“Footy has been the constant in Australian lives during a difficult period for the community and fans and supporters have rallied behind their clubs and heroes in a different way in 2020.

“Through our television screens, we have celebrated and applauded the players who have provided us with the entertainment we have craved.

“To have one in six Australians tune in to an AFL match every weekend highlights the strength of the game.

“The game has been covered differently this year and I want to thank our long-term broadcast partners, the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra, for their ongoing support and commitment to bringing the fans closer to the game giving them a sense of connection and comfort,” he said.

More than 77 million fans have tuned in to watch the 2020 Premiership Season.