THE uphill battle the AFL faces in winning over a new audience of television viewers in Sydney and Brisbane has been reinforced in the past fortnight, even though the Swans and Lions featured in two of the more interesting matches.

And the inability of the AFL to get a decent foothold in those northern markets, coupled with the NRL's strong ratings, has ramped up the chances of networks Seven and Ten bidding for a piece of the NRL action when discussions for the new broadcast rights deal officially begin, according to one media analyst.

Ratings figures released by tvtonight.com.au show only 68,000 Sydney viewers (485,000 nationally) tuned in to Channel Seven to watch the round-14 clash between the Swans and Richmond on a Sunday afternoon at the MCG. The Swans led by five goals at one stage but eventually lost by less than a kick in a thriller.

Channel Nine's NRL coverage, by comparison, attracted 401,000 viewers, with the ratings featuring only Sydney (247,000) and Queensland (154,000).

Last Saturday night, only 66,000 Brisbane viewers (593,000 nationally) flicked over to Channel Ten's broadcast between the home-town Lions and St Kilda from the Gabba. While the Lions' form had been terrible leading into the clash, it was hoped the return of Brendan Fevola and Saints' superstar Nick Riewoldt from injury would have provided a bounce in figures.

If local AFL fans had been waiting to see if the Lions would put up a fight before switching over, they had every reason to when the home team led by three goals at half-time. Yet, by the end of the night, the spike in form had failed to generate any great interest.

By comparison, Brisbane's AFL ratings figure barely eclipsed the 63,000 who tuned in to another repeat of A Touch of Frost on Seven's digital channel, 7Two, while it was doubled by the number of locals who sat through yet another repeat, this time of James Bond's For Your Eyes Only, on Seven's home station.

Earlier in the day, only 33,000 Brisbane viewers bothered to watch another classic clash between Geelong and Hawthorn from the MCG.

NRL figures were not available as all Saturday games are on pay-tv.

Saturday night's figure was particularly disappointing as 91,000 Brisbane viewers had watched the Fevola-less Lions take on Carlton on a Thursday night in the previous round, although that was well down on the 131,000 who tuned into the round-two grudge-match between the clubs.

Meanwhile, on Friday night, Seven would have been more than happy with the 676,000 national viewers (only 9,000 in Sydney, 6,000 in Brisbane) who tuned into Mark Williams' final match as coach of Port Adelaide after a day of drama at Alberton.

That Collingwood was the opposition only enhanced the prospect of juicy ratings figures. Even more meritorious was the fact the overall figure eclipsed Nine's NRL broadcast (647,000), a rarity this season, even though Nine's figures include only Sydney and Brisbane viewers.

A week earlier, Seven would have been content with the 599,000 who watched the ripping clash between the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn. But the NRL, however, had the last laugh, attracting 617,000 in Sydney and Brisbane.

James Manning, the publisher of respected website, mediaweek.com.au, said the NRL's strong ratings showed why Seven and Ten are keen for a piece of the action when discussions for the new broadcast rights deal officially begin.

"NRL is keen to split rights packages between all three commercial networks and Fox Sports," Manning said.

"NRL actually seems to perform better on TV generally speaking - AFL grand final aside - especially on subscription TV where NRL games do very well. But AFL seems to have a much more sophisticated marketing machine which keeps the sport bubbling along and attracts big advertisers."

While the AFL remains hopeful its two new franchises, the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, will eventually help attract more viewers in those states, there is likely to be, at least, more short-term pain.

"The AFL can't get more TV viewers for AFL in NSW. Network Ten has worked very hard with AFL to lift viewers in Sydney market for Swans games for years and the numbers just won't budge," Manning said.

That was made patently clear when only 59,000 Sydney-based fans tuned in to watch the round-13 stand-alone clash against Collingwood at ANZ Stadium.

As for the regional ratings, well, that's a little harder to discuss as official figures are only released from OzTAM and Nielsen ratings following a heavy payment.

After our recent column "AFL facing a fight for the big TV bucks", backpagelead.com.au had several inquiries about how the two sports fared outside of metropolitan Melbourne and Sydney.

Manning said regional NSW was divided into northern and southern regions. He said 159,000 viewers in the north of the state tuned in to the NRL's recent live Friday-night clash between the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers, which made the top-10 programs of the week in that region.

As for the southern region, he said the NRL was strong in the Wollongong area but viewers closer to the border appeared to enjoy the AFL more.

"In specific markets, it is interesting to note that Seven-Prime's Matty Johns Show is that network's No.1 program in Newcastle," he said.

Johns, of course, and his brother, Andrew, are Newcastle greats, despite their recent controversies.

The Matty Johns Show is shown statewide in NSW and Queensland. While ratings figures are relatively low - last week 384,000 tuned in - some industry observers believe it's a way for Seven to prove to the NRL it is serious about bidding for the broadcast rights.

Manning said regional Victoria consisted of all areas outside of metropolitan Melbourne.

"Similarly AFL is strong in regional Victoria where Friday-night AFL made the top-10 shows of the week for the Geelong versus St Kilda game with 126,000," he said of the round-13, Friday-night clash.

But the following week's battle between the Bulldogs and Hawthorn wasn't as well supported. Manning said the game attracted less than 130,000 viewers and failed to make the top-10 list that night.

Despite the AFL's issues in its northern markets, Manning believes the league will still pocket $1 billion in its next broadcast rights deal.