And they aren’t suing all their sports partners
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Highest rating subscription game ever earlier in the year. Strong numbers through the last two seasons despite Covid issues. Your definition of a disaster seems to be it is not exclusively broadcasted.
Just because you keep saying it’s a disaster doesn’t manifest that into reality.
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Why should Adelaide and Perth viewers have an automatic right to all of their teams games on FTA? If giving Foxtel exclusivity pushes up the value of the rights deal then the AFL should go for it.
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Not a believer in the don’t fix what isn’t broken sentiment?
Trust me when I say I am not a huge fan of foxtels and 7s coverage. With Foxtel I had to endure Kellie Underwood telling me Halls Gap is in WA (when in fact she meant halls creek). With 7 I often have the coverage muted. But I know I am going to get the coverage delivered to my screens with good picture and mostly good commentary. Can I be assured 10 and paramount will do the same. No.
Maybe the AFL has fans as their number 1 priority rather than a money. At the end of the day you can’t be chasing that sort of money without the fans. And we saw what happened to the big bash when the fans weren’t considered. The AFL would have to be thinking about all those sorts of thing when considering the deal.
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Victorian club fans don’t get to see every game their team plays on FTA. Are they less important than SA/WA fans?
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I think it’s proved to be quite successful over the past 20 years, growing the code nationally into what it is today, Lions in the early 2000s and Swans in the mid-2000s of particular highlight.
Since the VFL on TV dates back to the dawn of television here almost 70 years ago, whereas the interstate clubs only within the past 30 years or so, I don’t think it matters whether they’re from Australian Rules markets or not either.
I think that’s a fair argument although you are more likely to see a Victorian team on FTA rather than an interstate team. I would have no issue with SA/WA/QLD/NSW not showing all matches on FTA if they promised an equal amount of FTA for each team - which the AFL and 7 are never going to do.
And as Sully mentions above having each game on FTA really grows the game. A kid watching AFL might decide to take up grass roots football over Rugby. And that could be more valuable than any money they could get from showing the game on streaming.
While this may be true I do think 7 has done well this season to introduce better commentators such as Jason Bennett & Alister Nicholson (some matches), so I think they are improving.
I’m not sure about Fox, they seem to be saving costs etc by not sending commentary teams to interstate games & sometimes the delay is obvious.
I do think if the new rights deal was being discussed next year or even in 2024, it would give 10 a better opportunity to show their paramount+ app and their broadcast quality with the A-League & soccer games.
Agree that all NSW/QLD teams games should be on FTA to grow the code. But for SA/WA the 6 games which are on a 3 hour delay on FTA now, if they became fully exclusive to Foxtel would this be such a big deal? Are people still watching the games on a 3 hour delay anyway?
As I said I don’t think many would have an issue if there was an equal amount of games on FTA. Which there isn’t. You would need to guarantee games like the showdown and derby were on FTA (just like ANZAC day and Queens Birthday games are).
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I haven’t seen much mention of the anti-siphoning list regarding rights. The current list is due to expires April next year. Theoretically if it was abandoned altogether Foxtel or a streamer could purchase the rights to the whole competition - whether the AFL would think that was a good idea is another matter.
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I think by 2025 with the rise of smart TVs it won’t be so bad. Especially if something like “Kayo freebies” is used to replace the FTA component then the AFL might not care.
That said, what % of the Australian population out there now actually have no home internet and don’t own a smart TV? But as I said, by 2025 this could be something miniscule like less than 0.5% of the population?
I have no idea, I’m just speculating but it might be enough for a sports competition to not bother with FTA rights at all in future.
That said, proper exposure on FTA is a good thing to gain channel surfing viewers and better accessibility into non-smart TV households. But a good deal with a streaming provider that puts an “AFL” tile or app on the main screen of most major smart TV/devices could be enough exposure, or by 2025 could even be considered better exposure than what traditional FTA is offering.
Definitely something to think about come 2025 and beyond. Will the anti-siphoning list have any relevance when the majority of TV viewing is moving to online streaming?
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The government said they are looking at it and hope to extend it. I think they want to beef it up as well. I read that somewhere but cannot be sure.
The AFL would not want to risk alienating the older (60+) fanbase who are not always comfortable with modern technology. There was a big supporter backlash this year due to the mandated use of digital ticketing (instead of physical membership cards and printed tickets). This was quoted as one of the main reasons for the drop-off in crowds. If all of a sudden AFL disappears off FTA a large chunk of the older viewership will be lost to the game.
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As evidenced by ratings, they still draw a crowd, definitely no where near as high, especially if that local team has lost or been thrashed.
However, I’m guessing, Foxtel are wanting the arrangement scrapped altogether for Adelaide and Perth, so any games involving those local clubs not produced by FTA there, will be like what Melburnians have to do, head to a Foxtel platform.
Foxtel have been calling for this for years. I’d be surprised if it were just about (as currently) those handful of games which Foxtel already essentially get exclusive with such a large FTA delay.
The new Government has said they’re going to review it (with the aim of beefing it up and closing the streaming loophole)
I’ve seen this continually quoted (not just here, but elsewhere too) and it’s got a real stench of horse shit. It feels like its being pushed as an issue to avoid the real issues the game is facing (like some of the shit rule changes we’ve seen)
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And if it just happened to go against Foxtel’s wishes …
And more games featuring Victorian teams end up on Foxtel, which doesn’t help the Victorian supporter.
The Government have already nailed their colours to the mast - they want to support FTA
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As with most government policies Rupert will be briefed prior to the changes.
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