The grand final yesterday between the Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs will go down as one of the more exceptional in recent years. It certainly showed in the viewing numbers too, with the Seven Network reporting over three million people watched the victors triumphing over the other blokes. Match spoilers ahead.
As Simon Canning writes for Mumbrella, the match drew in 3.039 million at its peak, the biggest its been in a decade.
Not surprisingly, Melbourne contributed the largest portion to that figure:
In Melbourne 1.446m tuned in for the match while 534,000 watched in Sydney, 372,000 in Perth, 370,000 in Brisbane and 318,000 in Adelaide.
The popularity of the match, which saw the Bulldogs overcome the Swans 89-67 (and was still in contention with 10 minutes left to play), elevated all of Seven’s other AFL coverage into the one million-viewer mark.
The last grand final in which the Bulldogs appeared was all the way back in 1961. It’s also the first time a team has won from outside the top four since 1998, when Adelaide, from fifth position, overcame the Kangaroos.