AFL takes Seven to Friday night ratings win despite NRL’s Sydney strength for Nine

Tim Burrowes

April 30, 2016 2:20

Friday night’s TV ratings fortunes rose and fell with sporting code allegiances on Friday night.

Thanks to AFL, Seven dominated in Melbourne and Adelaide, while NRL took Nine to wins in Sydney and Brisbane.

In Melbourne, Seven’s Friday Night Football coverage of North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs pulled in 431,000 viewers, making it the city’s most watched program of the night. t also rated 105,000 in Adelaide, the city’s second biggest show after Seven News.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, Seven aired the AFL game on secondary channel 7Mate, where it pulled in a further 143,000 viewers – giving the game an overall metro viewership of 679,000.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.