APL has been able to secure the resourcing required to continue to have VAR available for the remaining rounds - that will upset a few fans
3 Likes
https://x.com/therealalm/status/1774317589973598416?s=46
What is going on with A-league production 
7 Likes
3 Likes
The friendly at San Antonio will be shown live on 10ās main channel around Australia next Wednesday (April 10) at 9.30am AEST. Kick off is at 10am AEST.
3 Likes
The Olyroos begin their AFC U23 Asian Cup campaign tomorrow (Monday) against Jordan.
3 Likes
Robbie Slater:
RS: That mess includes the broadcast deal between the APL and Network 10/Paramount +.
Iāve been in contact with someone very high up in the industry, and that deal is regarded as one of the worst in the history of Australian sport.
Network 10 and Paramount donāt care because under the ridiculous terms of the deal, they donāt have to pay as much because the APL has been able to deliver on the KPIs they promised.
And to add insult to injury, 10 and Paramount are going to be ārewardedā with new deals to cover the Socceroos and the Matildas.
While weāre at it, donāt get me started on the production debacle.
Thereās a long way to go in that saga as well because Iāve been told that the production company that went bust, Global Advance, is demanding money from the APL, who are still demanding money from them.
1 Like
The one programming decision Bev has made that makes sense. Tenās multis have the highest performance out of all the networks, yet the A-League still isnāt rating.
Begs the question about why they bothered with the rights, mind
In spite of the debacle, at least itās the most live A-league football Australian FTA has ever had. And 10 do a better job with it than the ABC or 7 ever did.
Scrapping the final series would make the league more exciting, aligning it with European leagues whereby the first placed team at the end of the regular season are the champions.
When the second division starts and there is promotion/ relegation, that will also make it more interesting to follow and should lead to higher attendances at venues.
3 Likes
They tried for a year to make A Leauge work on the main channel, promoted it and everything, and people still didnāt tune in.
What do they expect 
People just donāt watch football in the same way they watch other sports.
Good participation numbers & in person audiences ā tv viewers. Simple
4 Likes
Robbie Slater is a former Fox employee who didnāt get picked up by 10 when the rights changed. He has been disgruntled and been whinging ever since.
The issue with global Advance is not the fault of 10. The APL went with an unproven outside broadcaster and theyāve been burnt by it. The product that goes to air is of a good standard. Same camera angles and direction as in the past. I think Robbie Slater is clutching at straws.
The A league is never going to rate as a tier one sport. Itās a b grade sport at best and there is lots of exposure. Every 10 news bulletin covers the competition in the sports segment nearly every night.
Could 10 do more to promote it? Probably but thatās more mcgarveys fault. She has no fucking idea how to run a network.
3 Likes
The A-League on 10ās main channel rated terrible, when it was there two seasons ago. They moved it back to 10Bold, where it had the odd appearance in the top 20 of the multi-channel list up to two or so months ago (before changes were made by Oztam). That was just the Saturday night games. The Sunday arvo games never made the lists. There are next to no ads for these games.
It will never get the numbers of the AFL or the NRL .
5 Likes
If they want a game on the main channel so bad, they should air a day time game instead of those poorly made caravan and travelogue advertorial programs that clog the day time weekend schedule:
2 Likes
Those programs pay for themselves and are highly repeatable, if APL want more exposure on the main channel they should buy that airtime.
2 Likes
Poor Robbie, didnāt get a job! 
3 Likes
The main problem, as has been mentioned, is that the A-League simply isnāt good.
But the broadcasts have been beset by issues too, so itās been a rocky rights period.
1 Like
The ALeague standard is reasonable. Because AFL and NRL are so popular in Australia it suffers from lack of exposure. What are the perceived problems with the Paramount+ telecasts? I watch every Melbourne Victory game and have from the start and have never had any problems. I wonder sometimes if the so called problems are brought up by those who have a problem with P+ and have never watched a game. The ratings were better on Foxtel but IMO they were better when Foxtel had both EPL and ALeague. Football viewing in Australia is suffering because it is on too many outlets.
3 Likes
Itās probably the equivalent of Englandās League 1 in all honesty.
Plenty of examples in this thread of issues.
Problem is issues compound.
This I agree with. Needs to be in a football ecosystem with bigger leagues for sampling purposes.
4 Likes
Most of the TV broadcasts Iāve watched have been of a high quality, comparable to other live sports on FTA, however the lack of enthusiasm among the public and quality of football is the biggest issue.
Arguably, the A-league peaked when Postecoglou was managing the Brisbane Roar and Del Piero was playing for Sydney FC.
Since around 2015, interest seems to have dropped off and the standard of play hasnāt reached the heights of the period 2009-2015. COVID didnāt help.
The A-league needs some more high profile players, scrap the finals series and put a 30 min highlights show on 10 bold on Sat and Sun nights, similar to MOTD in the UK.
2 Likes
With the regular season ending up next weekend, the Finals Series start the following weekend (early May). I agree about scrapping the Finals Series. Doesnāt add much to Soccer in general (premiership rounds).
I agree that there should be a 30 minute highlights show somewhere in the schedule. A few years ago, SBS had The World Game on Monday nights as a half hour highlights show, showcasing World and Local soccer. Surely 10Bold can put it somewhere in the schedule.
2 Likes