By Adrian Musolino
August 27th 2009 @ 1:52am
Related coverage
Is the A-League product good enough for free to air?
Melbourne Victory's Archie Thompson (right) walks past as the Central Coast Mariners players celebrate winning round 1 of the 2009/10 A-League season in Melbourne, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. The Mariners beat Victory 2-0. AAP Image/Joe Castro
As a spectacle, Round 3 of the A-League left a lot to be desired. After the excitement of Round 2 and the Melbourne-Brisbane clash, it was confirmation that, despite the enormous strides, the league has a long development path still to trek, one that might be best if it’s played out on pay television.
Fans insist that for the A-League to break through the current public malaise, it needs to be on free to air.
Fair enough. Fox Sports is obviously limited in terms of its reach.
As a relatively new competition with new franchises still trying to win hearts and minds and build name recognition, free to air would afford the A-League a much wider reach.
As the Netball ANZ championship can attest, free to air coverage has its obvious benefits.
But how will the casual sporting fan react to the A-League, with its obvious and accepted deficiencies in style and play?
I do need to make the following clarification here: When I say casual sporting fans, I’m not talking about the sports fans that log onto The Roar daily and debate crowd figures, rather the fans that drop on the couch Friday night and want to be entertained to forget the drudgery of their working week.
The general perception of the A-League to these casual sporting fans is mixed.
They don’t particularly understand and appreciate the obvious and expected flaws of the A-League, especially when compared to other codes and overseas leagues.
Make no mistake; the A-League can be incredibly entertaining, and even these doubters would have been thoroughly entertained by the Melbourne V Brisbane clash from last weekend, but the overall depth and quality is still lacking and if this was exposed on free to air, it could damage the league and only foster these negative perceptions.
The advent of Fox Sports, and to a greater extent – due to its wider accessibility – ONE HD, is changing Australia’s sporting palette.
With Italian and German football now appearing on ONE HD, football is getting a greater run beyond the usual suspects of Fox Sports and SBS.
This all helps further educate the casual sports fans, which, in the most part, live on a diet of high scoring AFL and NRL, about the world game; a game that has only had brief flirtations with mainstream / commercial networks, often with mixed results.
The catch-22 for the A-League is the inconsistencies in its product would be further exposed in the mainstream on free to air, yet it needs free to air in the long run to help develop commercially so the knock on effect can help improve the on-field product.
Perhaps the fact that the next media deal is not up for grabs for a couple of years yet, is a good thing as it gives the A-League the necessary time to further develop.
This makes the next few years, when combined with the next stage of expansion, crucial to the leagues development.
The Holy Grail for the A-League is not free to air coverage just yet, rather genuine signs of on-field improvements.
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Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 8:31am | Report comment
This was covered on another thread, but I’ll raise it here.
Let us suppose that the Government does end up putting the Socceroos on the anti-siphoning list.
I have no doubt that any one of the three Commercial FTAs would pay decent money for exclusive rights to the Socceroos (excluding WC matches). That’s the good news.
But the bad news is:
1. You wouldn’t necessarily get to see all Socceroo matches (why? simply becuase that’s what happens on Commercial FTAs); and
2. Once the Socceros are decoupled from the A-League – how much in TV rights will the A-League bring in on its own?
3. Taking it further, if all of a sudden, Fox don’t have the Socceroos AND they don’t have exclusive rights to the A-League, can anyone imagine what that would mean for the overall TV rights in relation to the A-League?
People should keep these little questions in mind. Fox is actually a very good fit for the A-League (moreso, if the Socceroos stay on Pay TV as well).
Davos said | August 27th 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment
The government is greatly assisting the FFA and I’m confident that if the Socceroos were decoupled from the A-league to go onto FTA, it would only be friendlies and Asian WC Qualifiers and Asian Cup and all games shown, which I don’t think is unreasonable, the WC rights are completely separate, the government has no say on this matter.
Mr said | August 27th 2009 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
Pip, I share your view in regards to de-coupling of the Socceroos and A-League. As it stands no FTA would both pay and present the quality of coverage as Fox.
The discussions on an FTA A-League highlights packages (a necessity that will be coming soon – I’m sure) have nothing to do with the Anti-Siphoning List. That should be kept to the side. For those passionate about the subject, ASL submissions need to be made before Friday October 16. See here;
http://www.dbcde.gov.au/broadcasting/television/antisiphoning_and_antihoarding/sport_on_television__review_of_the_anti-siphoning_scheme_discussion_paper
I think the elephant in the room are the digital channels and the rise of new media. The government traditional media/new media convergence review is due in 2011 and both Austar and Fox are requesting access to digital channels before the roll-out of the broadband network. Fox could run football independent of the FTA channels if it gets Digital Access (read a Foxtel version of OneHD) – and set top boxes are a lot cheaper than cable subscription. This brings into the discussion cross-media regulations of course.
In regards to new media, I write today from my home in Asia. I’ve had broadband in the various countries I have lived in since leaving Australia a few moons ago. The annual subscription to AFC TV is only GBP30 per annum, giving A-League, J-League, Chinese Super League, ACL, AFC Asian Cup/Qualifiers, FIFA Asian WCQs. I can either pay this, or get coverage game-by-game from other sites free or nominal subscription depending on my mood – and I stream either type of coverage to my plasma with commentary & no ads. It’s great. When Australia gets the necessary bandwidth, I would venture a similar take up. There’s a whirlwind coming.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 2:17pm | Report comment
I never knew about this site and it looks fantastic.
Redb said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:15pm | Report comment
Agree, I clicked on one of the discussion papers gives you a nice summary of the TV status quo and possible changes re digital channels. Tends to flag some changes in line with digital rollout increasing since the early days, but Pay TV looms as a major lobbyist against this, given their skin in the game $$$.
Redb
Luke W said | August 27th 2009 @ 8:34am | Report comment
This is why I think a highlights show is the first step, maybe with a “Match of the Week” as well. I agree that right now the product isn’t consistent enough. In patches, the A-League has shown how entertaining it can be, and the passing game at times is almost a European standard. But it has to become more consistent for a casual sporting fan to embrace it. We can’t forget that your average FTA sports viewer is used to seeing the pinnacle of the sports they watch. Both the NRL and AFL represent the best those codes have to offer, so the A-League has to close the gap between it and the best leagues in the world.
Davos said | August 27th 2009 @ 8:51am | Report comment
Possibly the nest step in the evolution of Football and FTA coverage could work whilst maintaining the Pay TV arrangement. All live games remain as the status quo with the addition of ’select’ games to be included on FTA TV also, AFL does this, where you can view the same game on PayTV and FTA TV, however FTA is mostly delayed to fit into standard FTA scheduling.
The Link said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:02am | Report comment
Highlights and maybe a match of the round on One. Wouldn’t expect much ratings wise
Surely FTA TV is looking for some summer content though.
simonjzw said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Mate, the English Premier League isn’t good enough for our FTA how is the A-League going to cut it?
Luke W said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:30am | Report comment
Last time I checked, the EPL wasn’t good enough for English FTA.
Freud of Football said | August 28th 2009 @ 12:13am | Report comment
What a rubbish comment.
The EPL is so good that people will always pay to watch it, the stations can name their price, people will always pay for the product. It’s got nothing to do with it being a low quality league.
Give me Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney any day over Culina, Aloisi and Smeltz
AndyRoo said | August 28th 2009 @ 8:40am | Report comment
Think about what he said mate and the context. He was not having a go at the EPL he was highlighting that SKY owns most of the broadcast rights so just being on FTA or Pay TV has no baring of quality.
But as to your comment Fabergas, Torres and Drogba are much better advertisements for the EPL.
In regards to Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard I would prefer Culina, Aloisi and Smeltz. There not as good, but I don’t really care anymore about some hard working poms playing for a bunch of teams I don’t suport.
Mushi said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:36am | Report comment
The highlights show doesn’t really work though, for the most part these shows are used because of their synergies (be they perceived or real) with other programs on the channel.
On a stand alone basis they have less value.
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:40am | Report comment
It’s true that that’s how the Commercials generally approach these sorts of decisions.
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
When’’s the last time you watched a whole 90 minutes of rugby, Adrian? It’s boring as all heck! Boof! Boof! Boof!
AFL is not much better. Kick, run, fumble, ruckus… It’s the stupid egg-shaped ball which makes them all look even more incompetent than they are.
Even the most boring game of A-League nowadays is far better spectacle than this.
Perhaps the real issue is how the game is presented on TV. You need a mixture of commentators who can make the game interesting to different levels of viewers. You need to educate new viewers as you go through the game, so they finish the 90 minutes with more knowledge of the sport, the players, and the teams they just watched.
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Yes – but in the modern market economy, it’s of little value for a handful of individuals to loudly proclaim: well, my game is much better, therefore it deserves the lion’s share of the TV rights.
The dollars aren’t handed out on the basis of Fos-like wishful thinking.
Indeed, it was Fos himself who said the other day that soccer is a symphony, not a cacophony.
Now he clearly hadn’t seen any vision of the recent Carling Cup tie between West Ham and Milwall.
But putting all that aside – has it occurred to him that rock music outsells orchestral music by a factor of about 10 to 1 (pretty much the same ratio as the AFL TV rights to the A-League TV rights).
Similarly, the chaos of a Picasso will outsell the seemingly beautiful landscape of the amateur.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Pip, I don’t think anyone (sane) is thinking that the HAL is going to bring in a lot of cash (if any) for FTA.
SBS don’t pay much for the Iron Chef and that’s a pre packaged show (i.e. no need to spend money making it) and kills in the ratings.
DiCanio said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:13pm | Report comment
Picasso is not chaos
Maybe Pollock
Vicentin said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:58am | Report comment
I think a highlights program could work but having watch the Serie A and Bundesliga highlights the other night I have to say that if you don’t put the money in to the production values – enough cameras covering the game, good editing and other technical enhancements then you’ll end up doing the game itself a disservice.
The Bundesliga highlights are excellently done – similar to the way the Premier League highlights are packaged and how Serie A was in the nineties. The Italian highlights package on One HD “The Show” was a shambles of poor at ground camera work, poor editing, poor lighting at the pitch – though maybe this is more about poor post production, and it was an incomplete package (not all games were covered) which is probably something to do with confusing TV rights in Italy. It reaked of cheapness. Bottom line is the quality of the games was good but the production around them so let them down.
I think the general standard of the coverage of existing A-League games is good and with some tight editing out of the dull bits (every game has them) a very attractive package could entice a few newbies and satisfy the rusted-on but reluctant to go the Pay TV route. Have to admit I still haven’t signed up – other priorities and I don’t particularly like the model by which they sell their product ie I’m not interested in a lot of the other shit entering my house, but its not stopped me from watching a few games a week either over the net or at the pub etc it’s too easy.
Redb said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:05am | Report comment
You have got to be kidding.
Wilba said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Not that helpful Gaz, bagging other codes. I have fallen asleep in front of the TV watching all codes.
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:39am | Report comment
And I have sat entranced watching lawn bowls for an hour… especially after a few beers! I mean, people are waching BALLROOM DANCING just because it’s packaged right. C’mon!
Redb said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:30am | Report comment
What a load of cockie crap.
Most sports existed and were popular before television.
Redb
Chop said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:45am | Report comment
I can tell you Gaz, there are significantly more people watching either the NRL or AFL, plus Union tests in Australia than have even a passing interest in football. That’s what the A-League needs to work at changing to increase it’s popularity, it needs to be everyone’s second favourite game to get a foothole and then it might be ready for FTA TV, but right now the Northern states don’t get live AFL because of the ratings flop going against the NRL and vice versa in the Southern states. FTA doesn’t show live NRL into Victoria against the AFL because very few people will watch.
Your opinion, as valid as everyone else’s in a very VERY small minority.
I watch all 4 sports as much as I can but people like you with a football snobbery do nothing to help people want to watch the A-League because the barriers immediately go up. ‘That Gaz reckons the game I love is boring, why would I want to consider the game he loves when he’s just slamming the game I love’. I’ve seen it happen
Redb said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:49am | Report comment
Bang!! slotted through from outside 50.
cheers
Redb
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:54am | Report comment
Post high – over the ump’s head.
Brett McKay said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:21pm | Report comment
and over the black dot from the sideline!!
Good from you Choppo…
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:58am | Report comment
I thought AFL is live in brisbane and Sydney.
I know this weeks game the coverage starts at 7:30 pm in Brisbane so if it’s not live it’s close enough that it doesn’t matter,
Dogs Of War said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:02pm | Report comment
Only live on Foxtel, so you must have fox if you want to watch AFL live fridays.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Oh, I was just talking about whatever game involved the Lions or Swans…… I assumed even the most diehard AFL fan wouldn’t suggest putting an Interstate team vs interstate team game of AFL against Friday Night Football
melbvictory87 said | August 31st 2009 @ 8:27pm | Report comment
finally some1 i can relate to. ive just been saying this for the past 22 years of my life.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
Keep in mind FTA won’t be until 2013 which is 4 years from now so that is already plenty of time to develop.
That said I think the A league is a good enough product now, personally I would be only putting one game on FTA for exposure purposes rather than cash and that shouldn’t hurt the Fox deal because it would basically be advertising for them too. If people like what they see they will want to be able to watch there team every week (rather than once every 6 weeks) they will have too buy Fox.
It will never be as good as the top European league because of the financial differences wether we wait 5, 10 or 15 years. If we have to match Bayern Munich, Juventis and Manchester United we are never going to be happy but the truth is we don’t have to. Plenty of people watch the English championship and if you choose the games carefully (i.e. no Mariners) the TV product supplied by the A League can match that (perhaps not quite as good but made up for with that extra local flavor). And when you compare it to what other sports are on offer on FTA the Wallabies, NRL, 1 day cricket, Netball Championships and AFL the skill level is comparable.
Without that exposure to grow support the league won’t develop because we are struggling to get the message out there and build the profile of our players. Crowds and the salary cap won’t grow and while we are waiting for the perfect product the opportunity will pass us by.
If there was FTA game on each week this year I am pretty confident I could pick a good game in advance that would appeal to casual football fans, if you can’t just choose the Gold Coast game. Personally I like watching Adelaide because while there defensive it’s a well structured defence but I understand that they won’t be as appealing to the casual fans.
Heres my easy to use formula for choosing the TV game each round. Each Team has a number of appeal points and whatever game (add the two teams appeal points together) has the most appeal gets chosen.
Gold Coast United 8
Brisbane Roar 6 (play a very open and dirty game, which appeals to Aussies)
Melbourne Victory 5
Perth Glory 5
Sydney FC 3 (big name but not always that fantastic to watch)
Newcastle United 2 (occasionally scrappy occasionally brilliant)
Adelaide 2
Nth Qld Fury 2 (have to differentiate because of the conditions, a night game is 3)
Phoenix 0 (fine to watch but not much appeal on this side of the ditch)
Central Coast mariners -1 (not so much for there football but for the fact they are so good at strangling other teams)
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:10am | Report comment
I like the way you are thinking. Gold Coast nearly every week! Works for me, and certainly will not be boring (especially for rugby/AFL fans who want lots of goals).
I think the Jets might deserve a higher rating under Culina Snr, let’s see what they can bring this season. Perth should start playing some good stuff too.
Anyway, with the Socceroos on the world stage next year, you would think at least a highlights package in Season 6 will be a MUST.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Yeh my rating for the Jets is low but only because you dont know which Jets will show up. I should probably rate them higher because if they are playing Gold Coast, Brisbane or Melbourne you know it will be an interesting game.
There are so many good footballers at the Jets, Lubo, Pafta, the new italian marquee are all great to watch
True Tah said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:54pm | Report comment
AndyRoo
the comment about the skill level is in A-League being comparable to rugby, NRL, AFL that surely has to be irrelevant to TV viewing.
Both the NRL and the AFL are on a differant planet to the HAL when it comes to Pay TV viewing.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 2:04pm | Report comment
The skill level I only brought up because the article proposed waiting until the HAL was more developed before going on TV. So I thought it apt to mention that in that regard it compares well to what is on free to air at the moment and shouldn’t be of concern.
Ratings wise the HAL will be a dud when it comes to Free To Air when compared to the NRL and AFL. That’s why I am predicting a small deal for one game a week done for exposure rather than money reasons on One HD, SBS or the ABC.
I think Rugby would be interested too see how the HAL goes because both games have their best domestic comp only on pay tv and rate in the same ballpark. What that equates too on FTA will be interesting
True Tah said | August 27th 2009 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Andyroo
both rugby and futbol got dudded by FTA when their competitions (NSL and S14) were supposed to be shown by the channel, funnily enough it was the self-proclaimed “friend of rugby” Channel 7 which was responsible in both cases.
Olrac said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:06am | Report comment
I think fox should onsell or at least ffa should get them to, give a match of the round to ONEHD and have a highlights show just before it say on a a wed night there are no AFL or NRL (that I know of) shows on that night on FTA and they could do an hour of analysis and highlights then have a game of the week.
Maybe fox could trade it for some advertising time or something of that nature. ONE-HD seems to be positioniong itself to become a bidder for HAL in 2013 and Channel nine with their footbal stars of the future program are giving more credence to what soccer/football can bring to the table.
eastgate said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:11am | Report comment
Perhaps not the commercial networks, but nationally on the ABC – yes
If the ABC can show the snoozefest that is the Sydney club Rugby competition, surely the A league match of the Round is good enough.
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Another thing I would say is that SBS could do a much better job of promoting the A-League part of their Sunday package. Instead of burying the A-League stuff between hours of overseas football that’s of very limited appeal to some viewers, why not market the A-League segment as a separate show with a very clear and fixed timeslot? Non-regulars don’t even know when to tune in for the local game highlights.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Yeh I care less and less about 1 week old European transfers and the result for club football in Brazil. Show me Archies goal asap
10 years ago when the NSL felt as foreign to me as any league in the world I was much more patient
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:35am | Report comment
I would have thought the bulk of the viewers they attract are there for the overseas stuff – not for the local stuff.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Hmm I thought I was the only one watching
But I know not everyone has the internet but I am much less interested in the overseas reults that weren’t overnight.
I am happy to watch Tony Pulumbo talk italian football but I really want to see the overnight action and vision first.
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 10:47am | Report comment
That’s exactly my point, Pip. Why not separate the A-League content and try to bring in new viewers with a show that can be marketed to a different audience in its own right? Obviously they already have the on-sell from FAUX in place, it wouldn’t be too hard at all.
Heck, they could even get some Rugby and AFL guys to join the discussion panels! Now THAT might be funny!
melbvictory87 said | August 31st 2009 @ 8:35pm | Report comment
i definately agree on this one. i only watch the world cup, futbol mondial and the football feature dont do it for me. i already know the score o football feature and have little inclination to watch and mundial has no relevance to me whatsoever. they should show a-league game of the round of socceroos
Art Sapphire said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:13am | Report comment
First the good news – Socceroos World Cup qualifiers have been put on the anti-siphoning list as it is in the national interest to have these games broadcast on FTA. For example, the Ashes has to be shown on FTA because of they are also on the anti-siphoning list and in the national interest. But unlike the Ashes, the Socceroos games will get huge ratings.
Second the bad news – The problem is that the WC qualifying campaign for 2014 will not be shown on on FTA as the FFA do not want to break a contractual arrangement with Foxtel. Unfortunately, the FFA dug themselves a hole with this one.
In regards to the next Pay TV rights deal. The FFA will have to sell the WC qualifiers separately to the highest FTA bidder.
This will be for the 2018 campaign.
In regards to the A-League – the FFA will probably package it with Socceroos friendlies to get the best possible price.
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:39am | Report comment
That makes a lot of sense.
Norm said | August 27th 2009 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
why does an afl fan persist with making a nuisance of himself on a soccer thread?
Gaz said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:35am | Report comment
Talking of FTA football, 60 Minutes on Channel 9 will be televising a Gold Coast United special feature, including interviews with Clive Palmer and the supporters group, this Sunday night at 7:30 pm! That will be a great way to wash down our victory over the Jets at 3pm the same day!
Midfielder said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:51am | Report comment
Gaz
Thanks for that … will watch
chook said | August 27th 2009 @ 11:54am | Report comment
I think a hour package with a edited high lights of one of the games on free to air would work. Not a hour of commerical but an SBS or ABC type presentation. I sick to death of watch FTA and getting 25mins of show and 35 min of ads.
Have a preview of goals 4 games, 1 extended package of a game. 2 mins of player profile, 2 min of overseas player profile and a latest new of the socceroos and or overseas results.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:13pm | Report comment
This code versus code stuff is like a dog chasing its tale, and about as interesting. Labour and the Libs are acutely aware of the fact that the percentage of voters who change their mind is tiny – just a few percent. In the political realm elections are won and lost in this margin. But the vast majority of voters don’t ever change their voting patterns. Sport is no different. The growth for football is in the hundreds of thousands of kids playing now – the codes future depends on converting those kids to A League supporters. There is no real battle for the hearts and minds of NRL and AFL supporters. Like voters, they are already committed. What the A League has done so far is tap into the existing football support base that the NSL had – for good reasons – failed to attract. I am one of them. Craig Foster is tilting at windmills when he talks about being the dominant code in 20 years. Absolute nonsense. And irrelevant. Football doesn’t need to the dominant code – just one attractive and compelling enough to attract a financially viable support base. That is all that matters. High standards bring spectators. What we really need is a coaching revolution to raise the standard of our game. With all due respect to them, after following the A League since its inception I have grave doubts that McKinna, Ferguson, Mitchell, Farina are capable of delivering the kind of football we need, and there is a questionmark over Merrick. I sincerely hope my doubts prove to be unfounded, but at the moment it is alarming the way the fans are voting with their feet and staying away, assisted no doubt by ludicrous ticket pricing at Brisbane and Gold Coast. Before football worries about ephemeral issues like code “dominance”, it needs to focus on producing the kind of football that people want to see consistently, not occasionally which, Gold Coast apart, is now the case.
Luke W said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:40pm | Report comment
The FFA really has to step in and do something about ticket prices. Maybe when teams are attracting 15k plus consistently, they can afford to have high ticket prices, but in the current sporting and financial climate, getting as many people through the gate as possible must surely be the goal.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:02pm | Report comment
Could not agree more, Luke W. It is a shambles are present and the Roar’s crowds are an indicator of the results.
Brendo said | August 27th 2009 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
I think its a done deal that the Socceroos WR Qualifiers will be seperated at the next rights deal, maybe the Asian Cup and Friendlies as well. But unlike others I don’t think this will hurt FFA finiancially.
The quality argument is a red herring, as people have pointed out here, ballroom dancing is shown on FTA and attracts viewers. Its the production values and the wider media exposure that will drive ratings wins. European football is a stupid comparsion, the timezones make them extremely unattractive for FTA networks.
ONE are already chasing extra content, they are pushing hard with SANZAR to gain the Super15 rights and I think this is the sign of the times. ONE are going to change the market over the next 3-4 years and have no doubt that 7 & 9 are watching closely. I think its only a matter of time before at least one of them follow suit and launch their own dedicated sports channel. My bet is Channel 9 will win the next AFL rights and launch their own sports channel.
The best result for our sport would be for Fox to retain the rights for SANZAR amd Channel 9 to win back the rights for AFL, this will leave ONE even more keen for A-league rights.
The Socceroos will score big at the next rights deal, have no doubt they are the number 1 national team now and every network is going to want them. The FFA will get more for them alone at the next deal then they got in total last time. If the Government allows FTA channels to show anti-siphoning sports on their digital only channels this will further raise their price.
For the growth of the game Socceroos must be on FTA. I don’t think it is as important that the A-league gains a exclusive deal but with at least 6 matches being avaliable when the next rights deal gets done, you would think the FFA would want at least two of them on FTA and a highlights show. But I think money will rule at the next deal for the A-league but I won’t be surprised to see ONE come in with a big offer.
Redb said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:43pm | Report comment
Brendo,
From what I’ve read recently the digital channels are still out in the cold with regard to first rights to the anti-siphoning list. This of course creates no obstacle for the A League or Super 15 rugby, but shuts out the AFL or NRL option for ONE.
Redb
Brendo said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:18pm | Report comment
See Bretts comments below. There is some serious discussion about this happening right now. Fox of course are opposed but there are a lot of positives to allow the FTA to use their HD channels to show “Anti-Siphon” sports. I think their is a very good chance that the Government is going to allow this as the big advantage to them is it helps drive Digital Uptake which they need to be able to close down the Analogue
Mr said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
Actually Fox wants to get in there with their own digital channel, but cross-media ownership would prevent this. See Ken Williams’s comments at the National Press Club;
Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday, Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams also said the federal government should allow a fourth digital-only free-to-air TV network as soon as possible.
“It should issue licences to new players to provide new networks, either terrestrially or via satellite. That will help to drive digital television take-up,” Mr Williams said.
“Why shouldn’t a company like Foxtel or others have the opportunity to offer a fourth free-to-air network or a fifth over satellite if we can make a business case work? Why shouldn’t any other reputable and well-financed company be able to offer a fourth network terrestrially if it can make the business case work?”
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25649102-15306,00.html
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:06pm | Report comment
The inside word is that ONE is indeed interested in football. It would be a major acquisition for the network, and a very good fit. But the advantage of Fox is that they have 3 sports channels to use if need be and with 2 more teams at least in the next couple of years, how ONE would handle multiple fixtures. Fox does show EVERY match live, and that is no mean asset. A highlights package on FTA does look the best option overall.
Brett McKay said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Adrian, this is a great discussion, a lot of good stuff coming from your very valid points.
Your point about ONE HD is especially timely – they’ve already entered high level talks about the new Super 15 rights from 2011, and while initially I thought this might have just been the games played in Australia, I get the impression they’re now looking at the whole package.
There’s no doubt that if the Government’s current discussion paper makes decsions to allow the FTA networks the ability to show sport on their multi-channels first, there will be a mad race for sporting content.
I’m sure the FFA will look long and hard about positioning the A-League such that it is also a valuable aquisition for FTA telly. This is not to degrade what Pay TV has done for football in Australia, but I would think the FFA would be keen to have some kind of FTA presence in the near future.
Victer said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
I just don;t understand how One wouldn’t be looking at the a-league either way. What else are they going to fill a dedicated sports channel in the summer with?
Joe FC said | August 27th 2009 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
Ultimately Adrian it will be a commercial decision based on value for money principles. We can all sell & buy anything at the right price.
Peter said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
Heck if alf can be shown to more than half the population in NSW/QLD with shameful ratings, A-League Football got more than a chance on FTA.
Robbos said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
EXACTLY!!!!!!
Pippinu said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:53pm | Report comment
I just clicked the link that Mr put up above, and the very fist thing I saw was that in 2008 the alf grand final was the 2nd most watched sporting telecast in Australia.
Now clearly you, Robbos and Holy Warrior Fos aren’t watching, but I think we can presume that at least a few of your fellow countrymen are actually watching (otherwise it wouldn’t be sitting in 2nd spot, I dunno, it’s just a hunch).
But that’s ok, continue with your crusade, I’m sure that you will eventually amass an army big enough to overturn the most stubborn foe.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
Come on Pip give the Fos stuff a rest.
And I was shocked when you said it’s not number one (which I thought it always was) so I went and checked that bit.
It is number one becasue no sport is played during the olympics oppening ceremony.
Robbos said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:09pm | Report comment
Why do you go on about A-League attendances when they had 53K for the Grand Final last year.
Mr said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
Definately in a non FIFA World Cup year AFL GF will outrate nationally due to Vic/SA/WA/Tas and to a lesser extent NSW/Qld devotees. The figure reported for 2008 AFL GF is 2.491M viewers, second only to the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
To put that in perspective of the Socceroos, during the 2006 WC the finals were shown on FTA (as will be in 2010 on SBS) Roy Morgan has the Aus v Japan match at 7.115M viewers and the loss to Brasil was 4.178M viewers.
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2006/4038/
A-League doesn’t make the top 10 on PayTV for 2008, but the Socceroos occupy 2 of the top 5 spots for WCQs.
To put a benchmark in there, the top rating 2008 PayTV event was the (home) Bledisloe match at 350K. The same match was on FTA C7 and gained 1.445M, still below the AFL GF when FTA & PayTV is combined.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/bledisloe-smashes-tv-ratings/story-e6frexni-1111117051198
Apologies for the News Limited link.
Robbos said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
Football is not on FTA TV, only on pay TV & 2 of the top 10 most watched games are the socceroos and against world powerhouses like Qatar & Iraq.
Oh that’s right it’s the socceroos, it’s got nothing to do with football in Australia or was that the A-league or was that the only people interested in football had membership SFC and MV. Now I’m confused, what was your measurement on football again in this country, only those who attends A-league matches but didn’t follow a EPL, La Liga or Serie A side and anyone wearing a Barcelona shirt the total number of attendances should be dropped by 50. Anyone proclaiming to be a Beckham fan should together with their whole family also be turned away & be banned from all A-League grounds across the country.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:55pm | Report comment
Australia is a uniquely fragmented market for broadcasters when it comes to football codes. AFL likes to call itself the only national football code, but the reality is that they barely exist north of the Victorian border. I am astounded by the prospects of a 1 billion dollar tv deal. However, in regard to ticket pricing and falling A League crowds, GCU and the Roar both price themselves at the same levels as AFL and NRL, and this is utterly unrealistic. AFL and NRL can say with truth that for their codes they offer spectators the best competitions in the world, with the best talent. A-League cannot claim anything near this, and has to be priced accordingly to compete. If FFA take a controlling stake in Brisbane Roar, I hope the first thing they do is undo the absurd new ticket pricing levels that threaten to sink the club.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
I think the product is good but it’s no where near as popular as the NRL and AFL. Nor does it receive as much marketing and the Roar and Gold Coast charge more than the AFL and the same as the NRL.
It’s the 4 most popular code at the professional level in this country but priced like the first.
And incidently just today talking to the pest man at work who came around, turned out he went to the Roar vs Gold Coast game and without promting indicated he enjoyed it but a bit of a rip off.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
My capacity to attend matches this year at Suncorp has been limited by the new ticket prices. And yes, I too enjoyed the game and I too felt a like I paid way too much for the tickets.
Marlon said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
Have watched four A league games this year and it is quite clear that the quality is truly terrible. Call that Football ????…..Id rather watch re – runs of Big Brother with the volume turned down than sit through that crap. My advice to all young Australian football players. Run. Leave. Go to Europe and learn how to play real Football. A League live on commercial TV – NEVER !!!
MVDave said | August 27th 2009 @ 5:12pm | Report comment
Euro snob…obviously MV v BR wasnt one of the 4, nor NQ v SFC, nor GCU v NQ, nor BR v GCU, nor AU v GCU which were all excellent games for different reasons.
Socceroos hold pay tv records and rated through the roof during WC 2006. As part of the bargaining process FFA should ensure Socceroos rights are tied to a FTA component for HAL which may be a highlights show and 1 x match of the round. One HD seems the perfect fit at this stage.
Mr said | August 27th 2009 @ 5:31pm | Report comment
Bargaining on TV rights deals is different to the Anti-Siphoning List.
I believe that World Cup Finals, Asian Cup Finals, and any Australian HAL team succeeding beyond the ACL First Round (ie. Rd16/QF/SF/Final) should be on the ASL. Also if a FFA Cup competition is announced, the SFs & Final of said competition should be on the ASL per other countries around the world. In the short term, the HAL finals series (SFs & FInal) should be on the ASL.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:43pm | Report comment
Marion
Last round did indeed feature some awful games, but the round 2 games were mostly excellent, hence my point about the focus needing to be on providing consisently high standards. At the moment, the standard of the games is all over the place from one week to the next. Sydney, however, have been disappointingly consistent – dull as dishwater. So much for the “technical revolution” Lavicka promised. Sydney hoik more long balls out of defence than any other team.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:52pm | Report comment
Roughly rated games appeal
CCM vs Victory – poor
BR vs GCU – great
Phoenix vs Jets – passable
Sydney vs Fury – good
Adelaide vs Perth – passable
Perth vs Phoenix – passable
GCU vs Fury – edited to good (after crowd suggestions)
Jets vs CCM – poor
SFC vs Adelaide – edited to good (after crowd suggestions)
MV vs BR – great
Phoenix vs BR – mediocre
CCM vs SFC – poor/passable
Adelaide vs GCU – good
Perth vs Jets – good
MV vs Fury – poor
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:56pm | Report comment
I rated SFC/Adelaide as very watchable myself, and GCU were fabulous against the Fury. Rate them both as Good myself.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
It’s not just me is it, AndyRoo. Every CCM game is poor. They are a blight on the A-League. A plague on McKinna, a coach whose objective seems to be to strangle the lifeblood from every game.
AndyRoo said | August 27th 2009 @ 5:03pm | Report comment
Fair call on those games, I quite like watching Adelaide but not sure how others would view them. And I wasn’t sure what to do with such a one sided game but I guess all non Fury fans would have enjoyed Smeltz getting 4.
It’s CC mariners style, I dont hate them as much as Pip but there pressing means neither team really sparkles so there never great games.
Art Sapphire said | August 27th 2009 @ 5:24pm | Report comment
Can you imagine writing all this waffle about the quality of matches if say the salary cap was 5 million.
This is why the FFA needs to distribute as much money as possible to the clubs from the TV next deal, because the only way to boost attendances and ratings is to improve the quality on offer.
If the AFL are aiming for 1 billion for a 5 year deal then the FFA should be at least be aiming for 300 million over 5 years (that’s for everything, Socceroos, A-League etc. etc)
60 million a year – 12 clubs – give them half the money – 2.5 million each for salary payments. The clubs can raise the rest themselves.
Bingo – 5 million cap = decent football on the pitch, better players, bigger crowds, better ratings.
Realfootball said | August 27th 2009 @ 6:17pm | Report comment
Yep, sounds good to me. I think there is a real danger of the League getting bogged down in a nowhereland of mediocrity. The FFA has to be proactive in the next 2 years. The clubs have to be able to spend more on players. I can’t understand why they haven’t adopted the excellent idea, raised many times, of an Aussie marquee and an international marquee.
Mr said | August 27th 2009 @ 6:20pm | Report comment
Add an Asian marquee, as well as an International (also could be Asian), and junior marquee makes 4 outside the salary cap.
Robbos said | August 27th 2009 @ 6:54pm | Report comment
All the above I totally agree with. $5 million salary cap based of course more money coming into the game via next TV deal, Aussie marquee, Int’l marquee, Asian marquee & youth marquee. Imagine the side GC under Palmer will have.
Davo said | August 27th 2009 @ 7:10pm | Report comment
I love watching the A-League every weekend, it’s the only reason I Foxtel. So it would be a great deal cheaper for me if it was on free-to-air. I find it to be a acceptable standard. I watch the NRL as well, and just for the record, over the course of a weekend there are always games that don’t live up to any heights. So why single the A-League out?
Realfootball said | August 28th 2009 @ 10:04am | Report comment
The A-League is the only reason I get Foxtel too. Wouldn’t subscribe otherwise. So I guess it working for them.
Gibbo said | August 28th 2009 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
i get it for the football and naked wild on.
agga78 said | August 27th 2009 @ 8:55pm | Report comment
To answer the question in the article, Yes the A league product is very much good enough for FTA, For 4 years I would say no but this year I can see a standard of football which is 100 times better than the previous seasons mainly Gold Coast (that Brisbane v Gold Coast game was a fantastic game of football, fast crsip passing and great goals. But other games have been entertaining with great Goals, ENTERTAINING is the general rule for most A league games, to football people who have a great knowledge of the game they will tell you it is not technically great and the space in midfield sometimes is disgraceful, and missed passes which people rightfully cristised, but the games are in the most part ENTERTAINING. I believe the standard of the A league is on a par or even better than the other football codes in this country already, others may say that the NRL and AFL get the best atheletes in Australia which is true but the A league gets not only great Australian Atheletes but some great ones from Costa Rica, Thailand, Holland, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Italy etc all countries with far larger pools of talent to choose from than half of Australia which makes for a good standard. Even though by the next TV deal the standard of the league would of doubled, it’s highly doubtful FTA networks will take on live A league matches perhaps a Highlights show but thats about it, for reasons such as vested interests NRL and AFL, can’t rock the boat. But if we WIN the world cup bid the game will change forever.
hoodooguru said | August 28th 2009 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
This is cultural cringe at its worst.
Every soccer league (and non-soccer code) has its good (more easily watchable for the casual observer) games and those that aren’t so good.
There are only 3 leagues in the world that are either EPL, La Liga and Serie A, and many more that aren’t.
The issue with A-League being shown on FTA isn’t about quality (and I’m not conceding that the A-League is poor quality), it’s about awareness. It’s about the casual observer knowing when the A-League is on, who their local team is and how teams are doing.
DiCanio said | August 28th 2009 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
Outside of the top 6 or so leagues in the world I would say that the best aleauge games are good enough to mix it with the others, however there is too many times when whole rounds pass by without a memorable moment
CCM only represent the worst of what happens when a team is encouraged to play into medicority (6 in the finals series, low salary cap, no relegation)
Hopefully over the next few years the salary cap will increase and the 2-4 extra teams will present us with more impetus for teams to go for wins (ESPECIALLY ON YOUR HOME SOIL CCM)
however the seemingly impossible task of introducing relegation is the real pot of gold to getting clubs and athletes to push themselves on the quality they deliver.
Chop said | August 28th 2009 @ 4:56pm | Report comment
‘CCM only represent the worst of what happens when a team is encouraged to play into medicority’
If by mediocrity you mean 2 grand final appearances in 4 years, then year the Mariners are mediocre as opposed to Perth, Wellington, Brisbane who all play sensational football and can’t make a GF…..
I know who’d I’d rather support….GO THE MARINERS
Ghost said | August 28th 2009 @ 5:06pm | Report comment
Hoodooguru is spot on. We hare holding the A-League up to an impossible standard if we want each and every game to be at some magical FTA ‘gold’ level.
Even with the benefit of manipulating fixtures for the key FTA slots for those codes, AFL and NRL both throw up a fair share of mismatches and low quality stuff. 40-0 grand final anyone? Not bagging those codes just for the sake of it but all I’m saying is we’re talking a sporting league here and we don’t know what’s going to happen on the park until… well, the whistle/siren/hooter has sounded.
I also agree by the way that salary cap is a key issue. And being pro-football but I think not unrealistic I also don’t think all games (ie 5 this year, 6 next) should be FTA.
My own preference in ther shorter term for A-League on FTA would be a Saturday night live game, and then Monday a 2.5hr A-League feature comprising 45mins bulletin / highlights package from the weekend, and then the game of the week played in its entirety afterwards (downside is delay of a couple of days, upside is that Monday is usually quiet for competing sports).
melbvictory87 said | August 31st 2009 @ 8:38pm | Report comment
we should really show a best-of game. there have been some absolute stunners recently