Big shock: The Broncs are the kings of Brisbane

[I bleed Maroon]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/broncos/broncos-had-23-million-more-viewers-than-reds-in-2016/news-story/25883c3f016dcc9fed6afb7139ee21cf

THE Broncos have emerged as the kings of Queensland sport with the NRL grand finalists attracting a staggering 23 million more viewers than cross-code rivals the Reds this season.
The Courier-Mail can today reveal the state of Queensland’s sporting landscape after obtaining industry figures across the four football codes over the past 12 months.
Three years ago, rugby’s Reds claimed to be the hottest ticket in town, with their home-gate average of 34,217 fans eclipsing Brisbane’s 33,337 for the 2012 season.
At the time, Reds boss Jim Carmichael detailed his grand plan, revealing that outdrawing the Broncos was “not only a dream but something I think about all the time”.
But fresh viewership data shows the NRL has swamped the rival codes in Queensland, leveraging the tidal wave of interest created by the Broncos and Cowboys’ historic grand-final showdown in October.
In a remarkable sign of rugby league’s popularity, almost 49 million fans watched the Broncos, Cowboys and Titans on free-to-air and pay TV broadcasts last season.


Incredibly, the Broncos accounted for half the viewership with a record 24.8 million figure. Their rivals in three other codes — rugby’s Reds, football’s Roar and AFL’s Suns and Lions — totalled 15,234,000 collectively, underlining the pulling power of the Broncos for TV network bosses.
The Broncos’ proliferation of free-to-air games on Channel Nine gives the club a distinct broadcasting advantage.
But their home gates have also soared to an average of 36,097, dwarfing NRL premiers the Cowboys (16,649), while the Reds’ mark has dropped to 21,780, a 36 per cent plunge.

 

[Broncoman]

The Reds having a bigger crowd was just because of bandwagon support. I'm a Reds diehard I've been a member pretty much my whole life but I met people at Reds games who were only interested because they were winning. Same happened here when the Lions had their golden run. Everyone loves a winner. Rugby League will always be the strongest winter sport in Brisbane with the Broncos the number 1 team in town.