Sydney and Brisbane viewers still on the outer

 
Bruce Walkley Roar Pro

By , 18 Sep 2008 Bruce Walkley is a Roar Pro

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Swans fans watch their team on TV

The AFL’s vision, or stupidity, depending on your viewpoint, in trying to invade rugby league territory in western Sydney is copping a caning from the cavalier way in which its television “partners” are being allowed to treat core followers of Australian football in the NSW capital, as well as Brisbane.

Take last Saturday night, for example. Collingwood, with arguably the biggest following outside Victoria of any Melbourne-based team, played St Kilda for the right to be only one game away from the grand final.

Early in the week the AFL’s website listed live coverage of the game by Channel Ten, starting at 7pm, but by Wednesday newspaper TV guides told viewers they would be getting a 6.30pm movie called Matilda, in which “a young girl with the world’s worst parents is taken under the wing of the world’s nicest teacher”, with the AFL coverage delayed by 90 minutes, starting at 8.30pm.

Presumably this change of plan resulted from what The Age described, in a report quoting AFL chief operations officer Gillon McLachlan, as “recent requests from broadcasters in Sydney and Brisbane to relax the contractual obligation for Friday and Saturday night matches to be aired in prime time”.

Interestingly, Ten and its affiliates did show the Collingwood-St Kilda game live on both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, although Brisbane city viewers had to put up with the same treatment as their Sydney counterparts.

Canberra, the Far South Coast, Dubbo, Orange, Wollongong, Tamworth, Taree, Newcastle and Wagga Wagga all got the game live, and so did Queensland centres Cairns, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville.

On Friday night Sydney got the other semi-final between the Swans and the Western Bulldogs live on Channel Seven, for obvious reasons, and so did the rest of NSW, through Seven’s Prime affiliates.
Gold Coast viewers also got live coverage, but there was a 60-minute delay in Brisbane, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Cairns, as well as on the Sunshine Coast.

This week the Friday night preliminary final between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs, which starts at 7.40pm, will be on 60-minute delay on Seven and its affiliates throughout all the above-mentioned areas of NSW and Queensland, including the capital cities and, worst of all, the Gold Coast, which the AFL is supposed to be courting assiduously.

Fox Sports viewers will be “treated” to an 11.30pm replay.

Even worse for Sydney and Brisbane viewers, the Saturday night match between Hawthorn and St Kilda, which begins at 7pm, will be on a two-hour delay in both capitals on Ten, with the pre-game coverage starting at 8.30pm.

It will be live everywhere else in Queensland and nearly everywhere else in NSW.

Since Seven and Ten won’t show the games live, can capital city viewers at least watch them on pay-TV’s Main Event Channel 518? “No, again we have been advised that our channel isn’t required for the finals this weekend,” was Main Event’s response to an email query.

The Fox Sports replay kicks off at 11.45pm.

So, while we wait for the Government and/or the AFL to bring in use-it-or-lose it rules, it’s back to steam radio. Thank goodness for good old ABC NewsRadio at 630 on the AM band in Sydney and ABC936 in Brisbane, which will broadcast both games live.

The NRL must be rubbing its hands in glee at the AFL’s acquiescence in this shabby treatment of the northern capital cities’ viewers by its TV “partners”, who of course will justify their actions by pointing to ratings. I wonder what Matilda rated last week? How will Stuart Little go in Ten’s 6.30pm slot this week?

And what will potential GC17 members on the Gold Coast think about forking out their cash after being put on an hour’s delay?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, in some of the most interesting speculation about 2009, we have coach Paul Roos confirming that Sydney are eyeing Daniel Kerr and Alan Didak to boost their midfield and forward stocks.

The real question facing the Swans, though, is how many of their 30-plus brigade to cut, as well as big-hearted but blundering local Lewis Roberts-Thomson, who surely must go after his deficiencies were so cruelly exposed against the Bulldogs last week.

I can’t see too many high draft picks being handed over for that lot, unless they trade Barry Hall to Adelaide.

The mail from Melbourne is that Didak will stay at Collingwood, despite everything, so Kerr (if he doesn’t come to terms with West Coast or go to Carlton) and two or three well-credentialled but underrated players in the Ted Richards mould could be the Swans’ main targets.

This week’s picks: Cats by 25, Saints by 3. Last week 1 from 2, total so far 117/182.

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