AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL – AUSTRALIA

Sydney Swans are Australia’s most widely supported AFL club for 20 straight years

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Sep-25

The Sydney Swans have topped the annual Roy Morgan AFL supporter ladder for a 20th straight year, with 1,297,000 supporters. The Swans are more than 300,000 ahead of Grand Finalist the Brisbane Lions with 954,000 supporters, according to the 2025 annual Roy Morgan AFL club supporters survey. Beaten Preliminary Finalist Collingwood is the most widely supported Victorian club with 873,000 supporters, ahead of ‘Minor Premier’ the Adelaide Crows with 738,000 supporters. Two traditional Victorian powerhouses fill out the top six despite disappointing years, led by Essendon with 722,000 supporters (an increase of 59,000 on a year ago) and Carlton on 688,000 supporters (an increase of 107,000 – the largest annual increase of any club). Meanwhile, 9.72 million Australians now support an AFL club, up 860,000 (+9.7%) compared with four years ago. In addition, there are 8,589,000 Australians who watched at least one AFL match on TV, up more than 1 million (+13.3%) compared to 2021.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, BRISBANE LIONS FOOTBALL CLUB, ADELAIDE CROWS FOOTBALL CLUB, ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB, CARLTON FOOTBALL CLUB

AFL fans expected to fork out as Saturday live coverage goes behind paywall in 2025

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Original article by Jack Snape
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Feb-25

Foxtel and its Kayo Sports streaming service will have exclusive live broadcasts of AFL matches on Saturdays in Victoria and Tasmania during the 2025 season. The live and exclusive coverage will also apply to the first eight rounds of the home-and-away season in other states, under the new $4.5bn broadcasting rights deal between the AFL, Foxtel and the Seven Network that began this year. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany is confident that fans will be willing to pay to watch live coverage of AFL matches.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Grand Finalists Sydney & Brisbane are the most widely supported AFL teams with over 1 million supporters each

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Sep-24

For the first time both AFL Grand Finalists have over 1 million supporters, with the Sydney Swans again topping the annual Roy Morgan AFL supporter ladder with 1,337,000 supporters. The Swans are nearly 300,000 ahead of the second-placed Brisbane Lions with 1,049,000 supporters and the league’s biggest annual increase of 223,000 supporters (+27%) on a year ago, according to the 2024 annual Roy Morgan AFL club supporters survey. The big increase for the Lions comes after the club played off in its first Grand Final in 18 years in 2023 and saw the club leapfrog last year’s opponent Collingwood – the most widely supported Victorian club with 908,000 supporters, an increase of 33,000 (+3.8%) on a year ago. Meanwhile, 9.98 million Australians now support an AFL club, up more than 340,000 on a year ago, and up by a massive 2.5 million compared to four years ago in 2020. In addition, there are 8,896,000 Australians who watched at least one AFL match on TV, up 446,000 (+5.3%) on a year ago and up by over 1.2 million (+16.1%) from 2020.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, BRISBANE LIONS FOOTBALL CLUB, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB

Setka threat to AFL may be unlawful

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Jun-24

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says the CFMEU’s proposed work-to-rule campaign against the AFL is likely to constitute unlawful industrial action. Steven Amendola, a partner at law firm Kingston Reid, adds that the threat of industrial action unless the AFL agrees to sack head of umpiring Stephen McBurney could breach adverse action laws; he also suggests that the threat could potentially fall within Victoria’s blackmail laws. The CFMEU’s John Setka contends that the proposed action is not unlawful as construction workers will simply adhere to their regular hours and not work overtime or on rostered days off.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, KINGSTON REID

Weak PM, Allan blamed as Setka loses plot over AFL

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jun-24

The AFL has expressed support for its head of umpiring, Stephen McBurney, amid threats from the CFMEU to launch a ‘work-to-rule’ campaign on league-related construction projects unless he is sacked. McBurney is the former head of the Australian Building & Construction Commission, and the CFMEU’s Victorian state secretary John Setka has described him as ‘anti-worker’. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the CFMEU is "out of control" and accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of being too weak to stand up to a "union bully". The Victorian Opposition has in turn criticised Premier Jacinta Allan for failing to condemn the union’s actions.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

‘We will cause misery’: vengeful Setka stands over AFL

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-Jun-24

The Construction, Forestry & Maritime Employees’ Union has called for the dismissal of the AFL’s head of umpiring, Stephen McBurney. The CFMEU’s Victorian state secretary John Setka says the union will not pursue outright strike action, but it is prepared to impose a "work to rule" campaign on league-related construction projects while McBurney remains in his role. He adds that this will result in delays and cost over-runs on projects such as the new AFL stadium in Hobart. McBurney is the former head of the Australian Building & Construction Commission, which actively targed the CFMEU over breaches of workplace laws prior to its abolition after Labor took office in 2022.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN BULK ALLIANCE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Lachie Neale claims second Brownlow Medal after stunning count

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Original article by Jon Pierik
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 26-Sep-23

Brisbane Lions co-captain Lachie Neale has won his second Brownlow Medal, becoming the 16th player to have claimed multiple medals. Neale won this year’s medal with 31 votes, finishing ahead of Marcus Bontempelli (29 votes) and Nick Daicos (28). Neale finished the night with seven best on ground votes, while he said "I am pretty rattled to be honest, I didn’t expect this", when asked to comment on his win. The award for mark of the year went to GWS player Harry Himmelberg, while Brisbane player Will Ashcroft won goal of the year and the Jim Stynes Community Award went to Sam Docherty from Carlton.

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Sydney Swans are the most widely supported AFL club ahead of Collingwood, Brisbane and West Coast

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-23

The Sydney Swans have again topped the annual Roy Morgan AFL supporter ladder with 1,344,000 supporters in 2023, an increase of 209,000 supporters (+18.4%) on a year ago. This is the largest increase for any AFL club over the last 12 months, and the Swans are still the only club with over one million supporters. The annual Roy Morgan AFL club supporters survey also shows that Collingwood is in second spot overall with 875,000 supporters, an increase of 169,000 (+23.9%) on a year ago; it is the largest increase of any Victoria-based club. A majority of 13 of the AFL’s 18 clubs experienced an increase in support over the last year. Meanwhile, more people than ever before – 9,625,000 – now express support for an AFL club, an increase of 681,000 (+7.6%) on a year ago, and up 2,276,000 (+31.0%) on four years ago in 2019, prior to the pandemic. In addition, there are 8,451,000 Australians who watched at least one AFL match on TV, up 706,000 (+9.1%) on a year ago and up by over one million (+13.9%) from 2019.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SYDNEY SWANS FOOTBALL CLUB, COLLINGWOOD FOOTBALL CLUB

Seven West optimistic of securing AFL rights

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Original article by Mark Di Stefano, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Aug-22

The Australian Football League was hoping to finalise its next broadcasting rights deal after the last round of the home-and-away season this weekend. However, insiders have suggested that the AFL will not rush a deal in order to secure the best outcome. The AFL Commission discussed the competing bids on Monday, and it hopes to sell the broadcasting and streaming rights for around $3bn. Incumbent free-to-air rights holder Seven West Media is confident that its deal will be renewed, with CEO James Warburton noting that it has a "very strong" relationship with the AFL.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

Sports would be nuts to risk walking away: Foxtel CEO

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Original article by Max Mason, Mark Di Stefano
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 10-Aug-22

News Corporation has posted revenue of $US10.4bn for 2021-22, an increase of 11 per cent, while EBITDA rose 31 per cent to $US1.67bn. The Dow Jones financial news division’s EBITDA was up 30 per cent at $US433m, while the real estate services division’s EBITA rose 12 per cent to $US574m. News Corp Australia contributed $US109m to the media giant’s growth in profitability, while Foxtel’s total subscriber base rose to 4.5 million. Foxtel will seek to renew its AFL broadcasting rights deal, and CEO Patrick Delany says factors such as its audience reach and capacity to pay means that sporting bodies should not risk shifting their broadcasting rights to another company.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE