Crocmedia will exclusively call all 10 women’s AFL exhbition matches this year via the league’s website. The commentary team will be headed by Melbourne women’s team captain Daisy Pearce, Victorian Amateur Football Association caller Jo Wotton, former Demons coach Chris Connolly and Western Bulldogs women’s team coach and former AFL player Craig Starcevich.
Also, former Channel Seven and ABC Radio commentator Drew Morphett has joined Crocmedia’s AFL Live commentary team for regional stations, after calling AFL matches in Melbourne for 6PR Perth in 2015.
2 Likes
Geelong AFL star and Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield will host a new one-hour weeking fishing show called Reel Adventures, with good friend and professional fishing guide, Aaron Habgood, of Reds Fishing Adventures. Each week, the pair will discuss tips and techniques to help listeners get more out of their fishing and boating experiences, and profile fishing hot spots.
The show premieres this weekend (July 1/2) and can be heard on SEN in Melbourne, 2SM in Sydney plus station in regional Victoria and NSW, plus Toowoomba and Gympie in Queensland. For a list of stations receiving the show click here. It will also be released as a weekend podcast as well as a separate midweek Reel Adventures Xtra podcast.
CROCMEDIA SECURES FFA RADIO RIGHTS
Football Federation Australia (FFA) has today announced that Australia’s largest independent sports radio producer and program syndicator Crocmedia has secured exclusive commercial radio rights in a landmark six-year deal.
The agreement will deliver mass distribution of the game across metropolitan and regional radio and online audiences in Australia and New Zealand commencing from the 2017/18 Hyundai A-League season. The first commercial radio deal for FFA, the agreement reflects the continued growth of football in Australia and growing consumption of FFA content, including the two national leagues and national teams.
As the radio master rights holder, Crocmedia, will establish the Football Nation brand for football fans to connect with the sport. It will include live match calls and ancillary programming broadcast via Australian and New Zealand radio and streamed online via www.a-league.com.au as well as www.myfootballnation.com.
Football Nation will broadcast on the Super Radio Network which includes 2SM in Sydney and 21 regional stations across NSW and South East Queensland; Fiveaa in Adelaide; 6PR in Perth and other markets soon to be announced.
FFA CEO David Gallop said the partnership was an exciting move that would accelerate growth of the sport. “Along with our Network Ten, FOX SPORTS and News Corp Australia partnerships, this Crocmedia deal will allow more fans to access more of our great game and that’s a win for football. It’s another vote of confidence in the growth of the game, from the media industry,” Gallop said.
Crocmedia CEO Craig Hutchison said the company would leverage its other media assets and programs to drive interest and excitement in football.
“As well as broadcasting the biggest matches on Football Nation, we’ll use our broader programming ecosystem to grow the A-League fan base and build the profile of its players,” Hutchison said.
“This will include parochial content to support clubs in their local markets to help them drive memberships and game attendances,” he added.
In the deal, Crocmedia has also secured big screen and LED boundary signage rights at all Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League games.
Crocmedia changed the radio landscape in 2017 with its watershed AFL radio rights deal which sees its broadcast AFL games via AFL Nation across Australia.
The Football Nation call team will be announced shortly and is expected to include some of the biggest names in the sport as well as younger emerging talent.
Having the A-League broadcast on FiveAA and 6PR could conflict with their existing cricket coverage, as part of Macquarie Radio Network. Also, from February to May, the A-League broadcast will clash with the AFL pre-season and home and away games. Will the AFL have priority on both FiveAA and 6PR over key matches involving Adelaide United and Perth Glory?
I wonder if this will affect SEN’s A-League coverage in Melbourne. Crocmedia already provides some AFL games to SEN so perhaps this deal is still getting negotiated under the “other markets soon to be announced”.
Regarding scheduling conflicts, SEN did AFLW and JLT Community Games on SEN1116 and put some A-League games onto Aussie Digital and their app. MRN stations could do the same with NTS Digital.
Problem is NTS Digital is not available in Adelaide (FiveAA is only an affiliate of MRN). If an A-League match involving Adelaide United clashes with an AFL match involving the Crows or the Power, the soccer may need to be broadcast on another station altogether.
Do 5AA have digital only stations?
Crocmedia have released details on their first week of A-League coverage, under the strand “Football Nation”. Three games this week, airing on 2SM & the Super Radio Network, Talking Lifestyle in Melbourne, and 6PR and SportFM in Perth.
| Date | Teams | Call Team | Broadcast times (AEDT) |
Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 6 | Melbourne City vs. Brisbane Roar |
Benny Jones Clint Bolton |
7pm - 10pm 4.30pm - 7pm AWST |
2SM 91.3 SportFM Perth Super Radio Network Talking Lifestyle Melb. |
| Oct. 7 | Melbourne Victory vs. Sydney FC |
Ben Cameron Clint Bolton |
7.30pm - 10pm | Talking Lifestyle Melb. |
| Oct. 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Perth Glory |
Benny Jones Daniel McBreen |
5.30pm - 8pm 2:30pm - 5pm AWST |
6PR |
Wonder why the Sydney FC match won’t be on 2SM, but the Brisbane Roar match will? Are the Super Network stations airing Friday night games only?
Could be. 2SM Super have a long running country music program on Saturday and Sunday nights. Maybe Caralis wouldn’t move it.
From the press release:
- 2SM and the Super Radio Network AM stations - one match each weekend
- 4BC Brisbane - all Saturday & Sunday Brisbane Roar matches
- FIVEaa Adelaide - all Adelaide United home games
- 6PR Perth - all Saturday & Sunday Perth Glory matches
- 91.3 SportFM Perth - non-Perth Glory matches
- Talking Lifestyle 1278AM Melbourne - all Friday & Saturday night Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory home games
As mentioned here previously:
The press release also mentions Crocmedia will broadcast home matches of the Socceroos and Matildas and selected W-League matches during the year. I think this is the first time Socceroos and Matildas get commercial radio coverage.
That’s a messy mix for MML stations. Will TL 954AM take any?
Good to see Crocmedia have this time recognised 2SM 1269AM unlike their AFL Nation schedules.
Not a bad idea if SM get exclusivity to these matches in Sydney radio. Every past sporting match they’ve broadcast has been doubled up on at least one other Sydney station.
According to today’s Herald Sun, Talking Lifestyle 1278 was not Crocmedia’s original choice to broadcast A-League matches in Melbourne. Both SEN (which broadcast A-League until the end of last season) and 3AW knocked back Crocmedia’s offer, so Crocmedia had to resort to TL.
I wonder why SEN said no. Probably bitter that they lost the full rights.
Is SEN covering any games anymore? What about ABC?
SEN is not covering A-League game anymore, which will hurt its summer radio ratings.
ABC will continue to broadcast all A-League games each week on digital radio and live streaming, plus analogue coverage in the home state of the competing teams.
So if not on a Sat/Sun, 4BC won’t air Roar games? Interesting. Doubt many will bother to tune to 4BC regardless. Costly for 4BC, would need a panel op to add to their weekday shadowing of prime shifts to avoid dead air (still not worked out the automation).
Coverage in Perth is interesting, Sport FM is taking away games and PR the weekend matches. If a home game not on Sat/Sun, who is covering them?
This too is interesting:
2HD didn’t broadcast Stumps last Saturday. They just played music for the hour
AFL legend Malcolm Blight has returned to Adelaide and will co-host Sportsday SA with Kane Cornes from January 15. Blight will replace new Crows assistant coach Ben Hart.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/confidential/malcolm-blight-returns-to-adelaide-to-cohost-fiveaa-sportsday-show/news-story/a4af9cef7db97039ccf86d14c9648763
1 Like