Channel 10 boss finally acknowledges shocking ratings for A-League

Channel 10’s top executive has expressed her disappointment at the ratings for the A-League after the network paid $200million for free-to-air rights a year ago.

According to OzTam ratings, the Saturday night soccer game featured on Channel 10’s main channel, has attracted just 86,000 viewers on average and declined throughout the season.

Beverley McGarvey, the Executive Vice President of Paramount Australia, told TV Tonight she had not been ‘loving Sunday mornings’ after looking at Saturday’s overnight viewing figures for the network.

One Saturday night in January, the network only gained 3.2 per cent of the audience to its main channel. 

The A-League’s finals even failed to attract viewers. The clash between Western United and Wellington Phoenix in May drew fewer viewers than 10’s own 10 peach and 10 bold.

McGarvey said it was early days for the five-year contract with the A-League.

Losing numbers: According to OzTam ratings, the Saturday night soccer game featured on Channel 10’s main channel, has attracted just 86,000 viewers on average and declined throughout the season. Pictured: Western United celebrates A-League Grand Final between Melbourne City and Western United at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Saturday, May 28, 2022

‘We would prefer the ratings to be larger…I think we are starting to see green shoots already,’ she said.

It is understood that Channel 10’s owners Paramount, formerly ViacomCBS, wanted the A-League to lure viewers to their streaming service Paramount+, which launched last August.   

McGarvey said the first class soccer competition had worked so far as a subscription driver for the streamer. 

Poor showing: Ratings indicate that Channel 10’s audience share suffered throughout the A-League season,  which ended last week Picture: Channel 10’s footy commentary team

Channel 10’s deal means that fans can enjoy Socceroos and Matildas games, the AFC Champions League and the English FA Cup, 

The bad news comes after it was revealed early in 2022 that Channel 10 is making a big play for the AFL.

The struggling network is pulling out all the stops in its efforts to scoop Seven for the free-to-air broadcast rights.

The AFL is reportedly looking for ‘$2.5billion over five years’, and Channel 10 is willing to do ‘whatever it takes’ to secure the rights.

Seven has owned free-to-air rights for AFL matches since 2010.

Channel 10 previously broadcast the sport for four years from 2006.

 According to recent reports, the AFL is seeking a broadcaster with deeper pockets than Seven, after years of falling ratings.

Hoping for a better result: Executives from Paramount and Channel 10, including Beverley McGarvey (front row second from left) celebrate their A-League deal in June, 2021