Original Footy Show host Eddie McGuire says the demise of the long running AFL show has made him sad, proud and gratified.
The Nine Network pulled the plug on Thursday night on a major revamp of the show after just eight episodes as it plummeted to an all-time ratings low of 53,000 viewers in Melbourne last week.
"I'm sad because it's the end of a run of a great show," said McGuire, who spent years at the helm of the once-popular show which ran for more than a quarter of a century.
"It's gone for 26 years, when we first started the show we were told we had six weeks to make it rate and here we are 26 years later and we got 729 more episodes out of it than anybody thought.
"It's been a huge success. It's transformed football, certainly the entertainment and the commercialisation of the game. So we're hugely proud of that."
Speaking on his triple M radio show, McGuire says the show was a trailblazer and the biggest influence on his life.
"I'm sad and gratified at the same time."
Nine's Melbourne managing director Matt Scriven said it was a tough decision to end the show.
"It is with regret that The Footy Show will no longer be produced."
The Footy Show's viewership has steadily fallen in recent years, with AFL fans switching to Seven's rival offering The Front Bar.
It debuted in 1994 with co-hosts McGuire and Sam Newman and became a ratings powerhouse.
Melbourne great Garry Lyon, former North Melbourne president James Brayshaw, journalist Rebecca Maddern and high-profile media proprietor Craig Hutchison have hosted the program over the past decade.
The latest incarnation, led by Anthony Lehmann, Neroli Meadows, Dylan Alcott, Brendan Fevola and Shane Crawford, debuted on March 21 featuring a new set and format.
"I watched last night's show with critical eyes, and I thought it was a really good show," McGuire said.
Thursday night's show was its 735th and final episode, and McGuire said that over the years the program had poured millions of dollars back into football.
He also championed controversial co-host Newman.
"Sam Newman should be in the TV hall of fame."
Share
