It’s “likely” the AFL Grand Final will be played in a twilight timeslot this year, according to a new report.
The yearly debate over whether the premiership decider should remain in its traditional 2:30pm AEST timeslot, or move later in the day in a bid to improve the TV ratings, is set to be sparked once again.
Speaking at the SportNXT conference on Wednesday, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said a decision would be made by the AFL Commission “in the coming weeks”.
Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Earlier in March speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 he said “as someone who is a traditionalist (about keeping it in the day) … I have noticed just out there that people are a bit more receptive to having a look at something else.”
The Age reports “the majority of the AFL Commission remains open to the idea of the game being played under lights this year.
“It remains unlikely, however, that the AFL will go from a 2:30pm start to 7:20pm (night timeslot) in just 12 months.
“Sources familiar the discussions about the timing indicate for that reason, a 4:40pm fixture remains likely for 2023.”
Almost all AFL finals are played in a twilight or night-time slot, with last year’s Geelong-Collingwood and Sydney-Collingwood finals both twilight games.
But fan polls have almost unanimously stated the preference of most footy watchers is for the Grand Final to remain in the daytime slot.
The 2022 Grand Final, which featured Geelong smashing Sydney in a game that started at 2:30pm, received nearly one million fewer viewers than the 2021 or 2020 games, which were both played at night (east coast time).
However the Cats-Swans rating can also be attributed to that game being a blowout from the early stages, while pandemic lockdowns almost certainly helped the figures for the 2021 and 2020 contests.
