AFL returns surrounded by fans, sponsors and a heightened appetite for advertising
Ahead of the AFL’s triumphant return to the MCG and to TV screens tonight, Mumbrella’s Zoe Wilkinson speaks to Foxtel’s Martin Medcraf, Seven’s Kurt Burnette and hears from the AFL Media’s Julian Dunne, about partnerships, ratings and the excitement of footy fans that the game is returning to normality.
The AFL returns tonight with the 2020 premiers, the Richmond Tigers, facing off against the Carlton Blues. And across the board, the AFL and its broadcast partners, Seven and Foxtel, agree that the sense of excitement from fans is palpable.
“It’s great to see that there is such great interest across the sports as they come in. I think it’s a really good sign, it’s a really good signal of the health of the advertising marketplace. It’s a really good signal of Australia coming together to watch the sports that they love so much” Seven’s chief revenue officer, Kurt Burnette, says.
“It’s a significant moment in time, and one where they’re all very excited.”
2020 was a complicated year for the AFL; taking a 12-week hiatus during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, re-launching in June, and quickly moving the entire operation of the league to Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide as Melbourne entered lockdown.
