The AFL is pleased to announce last night’s qualifying final between Brisbane Lions and Richmond attracted a national average TV audience of 1.541m, outrating Thursday night’s opening qualifying final and all Finals in weeks 1 and 2 of 2019.

The total television audience was up 4% compared to last year’s Friday night week 1 Final (Geelong Cats V Collingwood).

The Brisbane average free-to-air (FTA) audience was 149,000 and the total Queensland market average FTA audience was 208,000 making the match the highest Brisbane and Queensland audience for a final (non-Grand Final) in the last 10 years.

Melbourne’s FTA audience was up 3% compared to last year’s Friday night week 1 Final.

The result comes on the back of the opening match of the 2020 Toyota AFL Finals Series, Port Adelaide v Geelong Cats, which attracted a total average TV audience of 1.537 million.

These huge viewing numbers come off the back of more than 77 million viewers tuning in to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

In an unprecedented year for football, the support and interest from fans in the broadcast of AFL games continues to be extremely strong.

At the conclusion of the home-and-away season, national television audiences were 14 per cent higher for average audience per game compared to the same time periods last year, confirming the high demand for football in 2020.

The hosting of matches in Queensland, combined with the success of the Brisbane Lions, has reflected a 32 per cent increase in Brisbane audiences. The AFL has provided much-needed entertainment to Victorians during a challenging year with audiences up 13 per cent on average and up 15 per cent in Melbourne.