An abbreviated Opening Round was held this year by the AFL as the very real threat posted by Cyclone Alfred caused the moving of both Queensland games to other rounds and times.
In NSW, however both matches went ahead with the Swans and Hawks drawing 40,310 (up 1% on 2024s Swans/Dees) to the SCG, while the Giants and Magpies pulled 19,248 (down 9% on 2024) to Engie Stadium.
The Total AFL attendance for Opening Round was 59,558, down 3% in 2024s NSW Opening Round total of 61,247. This may have been due in part to the Giants being fixtured on Sunday afternoon in Sydney, as opposed to Saturday night.
On Seven, total aggregated average audience reach 1.254m for the two matches, this is up 9% from the 1.147m that wtched the two Sydney teams play in Opening Round 2024.
- Friday nights Swans/Hawks clash rated 651,000 (BVOD 53,000) with a reach of 2.038m, this is narrowly up 2% from the 638,000 (Rch 1.993m) that watched the Swans/Dees Friday night game last year.
- Sunday afternoons Giants/Pies clash rated 603,000 (BVOD 44,000) with a reach of 1.366m. This is up 18% from the 509,000 (Rch 1.707m) for the same match rated on Saturday night in Opening Round 2024.
The Opening Round clash between Sydney Swans and Hawthorn Hawks was up 35% on the Sydney Swans v Melbourne Demons first game of the season in 2024 and is the most streamed AFL season opener of all time. It was also the second most watched AFL season opener of all time.
The Sydney v Hawthorn game also achieved the highest average audience ever for a sporting match on BINGE, bringing new audiences into the sport.
The Sunday afternoon game between GWS Giants and Collingwood Magpies rose 20% on the same match-up which was played on a Saturday night in 2024. Dwayne Russell was joined by Matt Hill as dedicated Fox Footy commentators for the game.
References
- AFL.com.au
- Virtualoz.com.au
- https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2025/03/10/afl-opening-round-lifts-fox-footy-viewership-by-29/
