The opening game between Richmond and Carlton has seen Channel 7 record its highest number of viewers in an opening fixture in the last five years, as reported by SEN's Sam Edmund.
The Tigers' victory over the Blues had a national audience of 1,024,000, which was an increase on last yearโs 981,000.
From a year ago, in Melbourne, Channel 7 saw a spike of 12.4% in average audience with 542,000 viewers, while the seven's metro average audience also saw an increase in viewing.
This was the first game in AFL history played behind closed doors with the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the nation.
All games for the foreseeable future will be played behind closed doors.