A-League too television-friendly for its own good
Columnist By Adrian Musolino, 3 Jan 2012 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert
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Are Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton boosting A-League TV figures? (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
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Sporting codes tread a very fine line in satisfying the often-conflicting demands of television with making sure their schedule is attendance-friendly. But looking at the A-League, there is a clear trend for television-friendly scheduling, rather than crowds.
The five matches in a row scheduled for Wednesday the fourth of January is a case in point. At the time the schedule was released, some of us took umbrage to the marathon of back-to-back matches.
After all, it was not a public holiday, and unless you were one of the lucky ones with time off in the first week of the new year, you’d be unable to attend the games that fall in business hours.
Such Wellington, Melbourne Heart and Newcastle Jets fans have a right to be aggrieved, missing out on a home game because they have the misfortune of, um, having jobs.
Many raved about the prospect of 11 hours straight of A-League, but they may change their tune when they find their annual leave doesn’t cover midweek football.
A motivator behind the marathon was clear to see in the press release announcing the season schedule: “And in a Hyundai A-League first, Wednesday 4 January, will see a football bonanza with five matches, back-to-back, starting in Wellington and moving through Melbourne, Newcastle and Gosford before finishing off in Perth for an amazing 11 hours straight of Hyundai A-League action, all live and exclusive on Fox Sports.”
Yep, it reads like an advert for Fox Sports – in so many ways the saviour of the A-League, for without them the competition could not function. But is this taking television-friendly scheduling too far?
I was prepared to let the midweek marathon slide given that it was, at least, in school holidays. But when Sydney FC’s regional round match against Perth Glory at Campbelltown Stadium was postponed and rescheduled to a 5.30pm kick-off on Wednesday the 18th of January, I couldn’t bite my tongue any longer.
The 5.30pm kick-off means Fox Sports can show both matches scheduled for that night back-to-back.
Again, for fans with work commitments on a working day, how can they hope to make it in time for kick-off? Particularly those Sydney FC fans working in inner Sydney, who will need a good 45 minutes to get to the ground (not factoring in Sydney’s horrific traffic in peak hour).
Incidentally, why regional rounds are scheduled midweek is another matter that requires further questioning.
Catering to your television host is important for a growing league like the A-League, and it’s been a constant since day one. Matches are always scheduled back-to-back so there is no crossover. Even final round home and away matches are spread across the weekend, much to the chagrin of traditionalists who would like to see all matches start at the same time, so no team has an advantage over another of knowing what they need to do to progress to the finals or claim the premiership.
But while television ratings are vital to a league’s sustainability, there needs to be a concerted effort to make sure the demands of television do not put up stern barriers that will stop people from attending matches.
Remember, fans that are already paying a price for a Foxtel or Austar subscription are less likely to go out at an additional cost to attend matches or buy memberships. They are already paying to see the A-League – live, uninterrupted and in high-definition (sounds like another Foxtel ad) – without actually going to the games.
So getting fans in the habit of attending matches regularly is already difficult. But creating a fan culture where they do get in that habit can only be achieved with family-friendly, consistent timeslots that still work with television; not scheduling matches during weekdays on non-public holidays.
Fans need to be encouraged to attend matches and not given excuses not to, lest we are left bemoaning poor crowd figures.
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January 3rd 2012 @ 5:51am
nordster said | January 3rd 2012 @ 5:51am | Report comment
some good points there Adrian, especially re the final weekend of the regular season! I don’t mind today’s five games for a midweek day as its school holidays. But i do think they should play two of them in the 7.30 slot. I’d guess thats the popular summer kick off time.
at this point in the league, i’d question the need for having a separate slot for EVERY match. By now people are more focused on their local teams. Ie they follow one club rather than the whole league. I know myself in the earlier years of the comp i would follow most games. Now i have maybe two or three teams i’ll be following – my local club plus one or two others depending on form.
The games should be tailored to the best times for each location. So the popular timeslots could have a couple of games on. (Fox do have multi-view and many channels so could still screen them. Marketing won’t lose their ‘every game live’ tagline! Plus they replay them all anyway.)
January 3rd 2012 @ 8:12am
The Cattery said | January 3rd 2012 @ 8:12am | Report comment
Whenever the question of TV rights arises, doesn’t matter which sport, I always say that the sport has to offer the broadcaster value if it expects some financial gain in return.
If the FFA wants a doubling in the value of the TV rights next time around, it has to do this sort of stuff, it has to work with the broadcaster, it has to deliver value to the broadcaster.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:01am
jamesb said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:01am | Report comment
have to agree Cat
although i would’ve prefer if the 5 matches was spread over 2 days, not 1, but hey lets see what happens tomorrow.
The A-League has teams that are in areas like Perth, New Zealand, Qld, Adelaide, where you have different time zones in the summer. Which means you have matches that are played one game at a time, and with that, you can accumulate tv ratings at a maximum
Whereas if you have 4 or 5 matches played at the same time, you than start to cannibalise tv ratings, and therefore affect tv deals.
As for holding these matches on Jan 4 which isn’t a public holiday, you have school kids, tertiary students that are on holidays. Whilst many people will be on holidays until the start of next week. Than again, some people might be on holidays until Australia Day.
Janaury is a month where many people would be on holidays, whether its students or workers.
The SCG today, there will be a few people in attendance today, and the next few days. The Australian open tennis will also have a few people attend as well over a 2 week period.
But like i said before, lets see what transpires tomorrow.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:13am
The Cattery said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:13am | Report comment
That’s a good point about the SCG test starting today, the first four days are effectively work days. So at this time of year, and we know this from our experience with test cricket going back many, many years – there are stacks of people not working looking for something to do, and they will be drawn to sport.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:31am
TomC said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:31am | Report comment
I tend to agree with Cat on this one. The A-league has to demonstrate that it’s committed to making itself a high quality TV product. Bear in mind that not only do they need the cash, they also want to get some kind of free to air presence, which requires a lot of goodwill from Fox.
January 4th 2012 @ 6:22pm
Tizzo said | January 4th 2012 @ 6:22pm | Report comment
Hopefully more than double though.
January 3rd 2012 @ 8:22am
Dean said | January 3rd 2012 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Murray Shaw, the Executive Producer at FoxSports Australia, is not impressed by the veracity of Adrian Mussolino’s article and has responded curtly via Twitter saying:
MurrayShaw1 Murray Shaw
Wrong @AdrianMusolino The A-League marathon was an FFA concept. Fine to have a go at us but check your facts.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:15am
The Cattery said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:15am | Report comment
It may have been an FFA concept, but they have worked with Fox to get the concept off the ground, and the idea would have been enthusiastically received, but as I said in my first post above, sports bodies and broadcasters have to work together to mutual advantage.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:24am
B.A Sports said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:24am | Report comment
I’m all for the FFA/FoxSports creating a “football day” where you have five back to back games. If ou are going to have it as an annual event, you should get Govt involved, and make it an annual event full of promotion, local football activities etc which culminate with non-stop action on TV all day.
Choosing January 4 (day 2 of a test match seems a bit random though, they should look to get there own day on the calender to stand out
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:34am
Redb said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Seems odd to pick a week day for a marathon. Why not Sunday the 8th? the test would be over.
January 3rd 2012 @ 12:54pm
Axelv said | January 3rd 2012 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
It’s gotta be a midweek fixture to squeeze an extra round in the season, the A-League did start pretty late in October after all.
As someone mentioned, this time of the year is in holiday mode overall although many people are still working.
If the cricket and tennis etc are getting massive crowds during week days there is no reason why you can’t have A-League matches during the day. School kids, Uni students and workers on holidays are certainly in the majority.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:36am
Chris said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:36am | Report comment
Would be fantastic if there was live video stream either through Foxsports or the A-League website so us plebbs at work tomorrow can watch live coverage through throughout the day or the FFA could lobby the government for a national holiday. Would be happy either way.
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:42am
j binnie said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:42am | Report comment
Adrian – A strange article where the theme appears to be split and debates with itself until the reader is left wondering what’s good,and what’s bad, for the code in general.
Dean’s contribution at 8.22am ,if genuine, only adds to the debate.
While it would appear the FFA are doing their homework in presenting a series of matches to the TV people for consideration,it also should be remembered that all this has been done before in other countries and has led to a complete, new, economic structure for “lesser” clubs who ,having been told by government agencies such as Health& Safety to improve their grounds (or else?) at great expense, have grown to DEPEND on TV rights money for their very existence.This in turn has seen crowds dwindle to what many would consider unsustainable for a club using an “old” economic plan to survive.
It is all very well to note the 2 Manchester clubs still pulling 70k and 40k respectively but 2 levels of league down they are lucky to draw 2k to 4k. in smaller cities/towns with populations of 100k.
So whereto???? Do we want big crowds adding atmosphere to our games in the HAL or will the payout money from TV be suffice to keep the franchise owners of the HAL happy if in fact most of that money is given back to the clubs involved? .A good debate “in waiting” Adrian,keep your ear to the wall. jb
January 3rd 2012 @ 9:49am
ryan.eckford1 said | January 3rd 2012 @ 9:49am | Report comment
I think that the A-League needs to grow to 20 teams, as well as have a promotion and relegation system for what I am about to say to work. We need multiple games on at the same time.
For example, a typical round/week of games will consist of (please note kick-off times are either AEST or AEDT, unless listed otherwise):
1 Saturday game at 12:45PM(No game in WA at this time)/8:00PM(WA kickoff 10:00PM AEST or AEDT)
5 Saturday games at 3:00PM (3:00PM Saturday Television Blackout to ensure attendances at these games, and lower league matches, which usually kick-off at this time. This doesn’t include Cup finals, and the final week of the season, which will be on a Sunday at 3:00PM, with all games kicking off simultaneously.)
1 Saturday game at 5:30PM
1 Sunday game at 1:30PM
1 Sunday game at 4:00PM
1 Monday night game at 8:00PM. Games in WA at 10:00PM AEST or AEDT.
All mid-week games will kick-off at either 7:45PM or 8:00PM, with a maximum of 5 games per night. Games in WA may kick-off at 9:45PM or 10:00PM AEST or AEDT.
I think this is a great idea to boost crowd numbers and to improve the revenue of the football clubs.
January 3rd 2012 @ 1:01pm
Axelv said | January 3rd 2012 @ 1:01pm | Report comment
Na, 20 teams would thin out the crowds, making small crowds at every club, it would be a de-traction to the games and to the television viewing. Also the distribution of income spread out amongst 20 teams would mean there is not enough money, and the league as a whole would go bankrupt.
Funding a division 2 also costs more money, and we don’t have the depth of interest in Australia to support it like they do in Europe. If a big club gets relegated and a small club gets promoted, the fan base of the small club will continue to be small, and the fan base of the big club will be decimated.
It’s all round losing to expand to 20 teams and have a promotion/relegation system.
January 3rd 2012 @ 6:52pm
j binnie said | January 3rd 2012 @ 6:52pm | Report comment
Axelv -Would you mind explaining 2 things to ryan and his good idea.
(1) We’ve had a 2 league system before in Australia when 26 teams played in a Northern and Southern Conference. Result – An unmitigated DISASTER.
(2) Would Ryan mind telling us how to overcome the following problem. Assuming 20 players to a squad where are our “new” clubs going to find 200 players of such a standard that the standard already attained by the HAL would not suffer. I know of a few coaches in the HAL who would like to know the answer to that question . jb
January 3rd 2012 @ 10:02am
Futbanous said | January 3rd 2012 @ 10:02am | Report comment
Its the way of the world nowadays(TV dictating times/terms). The FFA may have instigated this Wednesday but with pleasing Fox regarding the next TV deal in mind as others have stated. Do I think it affects crowds,yes I do. Do I think it can be changed ,no I don’t. A tweak here a tweak there maybe but overall TV is in control of sport today.
Years ago in the UK all football matches were at 3 o’clock Saturday afternoon,then along came TV. Now clubs played last Saturday some backed up yesterday,the rest play today & tomorrow. I’m sure the rest of the football & sporting world was similar.
The tweaking has got better this season,no doubt. As experience kicks in for the A-League we will see further improved tweaking in the future. Can it ever be ideal for the fans,not a chance.
There is a flip side if instigated cleverly. The old first division in England was respected pre 1991,but hardly the world wide phenomena we see today in the EPL. Why TV money,no more no less.
We can do the same ,albeit on a much smaller scale in our own backyard to compete in Asia against the bigger leagues there(See what were up against re Joel Griffiths new salary). We need the moolah bottom line to do so & that means sacrificing a bit of fan friendly times in A-League scheduling.
January 3rd 2012 @ 10:33am
Punter said | January 3rd 2012 @ 10:33am | Report comment
Could not agree more. I’m off tomorrow & I’m going to catch as many games as possible & maybe even drive up to the Central Coast to see HK.
If anyone wants convincing of the impact of TV money, the winner of the English Championship playoff (to get into the EPL) is worth $60 million dollars to the winner (difference between PL & Championship level).
January 3rd 2012 @ 11:35am
Stevo said | January 3rd 2012 @ 11:35am | Report comment
It’s not like the HAL is the only competition that needs TV deals. The AFL/VFL was a Saturday afternoon comp once until it “sold its soul” to TV programming and introduced staggered times, Friday night and Sunday games. FFA must work with Fox to create an appealing comp and that means doing it that also suits the broadcaster. No problems. There will be many, many people on holidays right now so a midweek blockbuster shouldn’t be a problem just like it’s not a problem for the Aussie Tennis Open, the current Brisbane International tennis, the cricket in Sydney.
January 3rd 2012 @ 12:16pm
pete4 said | January 3rd 2012 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
I agree Adrian the marathon should be on a Saturday not Wednesday. Plus playing Sydney v Perth at 5.30pm in Campbelltown mid-week is very poor scheduling
January 3rd 2012 @ 1:05pm
Axelv said | January 3rd 2012 @ 1:05pm | Report comment
They need to squeeze in an extra round to the fixture so it has to be midweek, do you think Jan 4 midweek is better, or midweek November, December (before christmas), or late midweek Jan? or midweek Feb?
January 3rd 2012 @ 6:03pm
pete4 said | January 3rd 2012 @ 6:03pm | Report comment
Heart game kicks off at 3.15pm in the afternoon on a work day?? Interesting to see how it goes. Let’s hope for the best anyway. The flipside:
Craig Foster tweet at 5.52pm -
Looking forward to ‘Big Wednesday’ 5 game marathon tomorrow. An outstanding piece of marketing & scheduling, vastly improved this season