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FFA can thank Optus for the increase in viewers

3rd November, 2016
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Expert
3rd November, 2016
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With broadcast negotiations still on-going, Football Federation Australia can thank Optus for an upturn in the number of viewers watching the A-League.

While many of those who actually watch the English Premier League on Optus swear the coverage is an improvement, the reality is the telco’s roll-out of its streaming service has been a disaster.

Even ignoring the thousands of social media complaints their coverage generates every match day, the uptake in new customers has been minimal, according to their most recent financial report.

I have no doubt Optus badly miscalculated the willingness of football fans in Australia to pay good money to switch providers solely for the purposes of watching English football.

But Optus’ pain is the A-League’s gain, with TV ratings surging on both Fox Sports and SBS following a stellar start to the domestic season.

While the addition of Tim Cahill and a couple of cracking derbies has helped, there’s another unspoken reason for the A-League’s ratings renaissance.

With Optus giving football fans next to no time to cancel their Fox Sports subscriptions, I reckon plenty of supporters who once subscribed primarily to watch English football are now using Fox Sports to watch the A-League instead.

That’s worth remembering for an FFA still shopping the A-League broadcast rights around – including to a telecommunications provider in Optus still struggling with the technology required for Over-the-Top streaming of live sport.

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Fox Sports has their critics – although I’m not sure why, having lived in Japan and seen first-hand what the alternative for pay TV coverage can be like – but it’s worth remembering the incumbent broadcaster actually possesses the technical know-how needed to broadcast the A-League.

At any rate, fans who don’t have access to Fox Sports can watch tonight’s Suncorp Stadium blockbuster between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City live on SBS2.

While the ‘Big Blue’ traditionally steals the headlines, I would argue tonight’s bell-ringer of a clash is actually the match of the round.

Even if Tim Cahill doesn’t feature, there are still so many plotlines to make this much more than your run-of-the-mill A-League encounter.

City midfielder Luke Brattan will be stinging after his unceremonious omission from the Socceroos squad, while Roar coach John Aloisi is quietly assembling the sort of dynamic outfit he once looked likely to build at the club formerly known as Melbourne Heart.

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Such is the buzz around Brisbane for the match that upwards of 20,000 fans are expected to file through the turnstiles for this marquee encounter.

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If football fans in Sydney have any sense, there’ll be at least as many people in the stands at Allianz Stadium for the eternal grudge match between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.

It’s not often Sydney FC go into a clash with their most hated of rivals as outright favourites, but the Sky Blues deserve the favouritism tag following a scintillating start to the campaign.

Victory are far from pushovers – they proved as much with a 6-1 thumping of the hapless Wellington Phoenix on Monday night – but Kevin Muscat could be forgiven for approaching the trip to Sydney with a degree of trepidation.

And with Perth Glory hosting Western Sydney in an intriguing looking clash on Sunday afternoon, we’ve got three days in a row of must-see A-League action.

The great thing about the season to date is the fact that there has generally been more than one really entertaining match per round.

That hasn’t always been the case in the past, with many rounds often featuring one enthralling encounter mixed in with four relatively ho-hum affairs.

It’s no surprise to see A-League ratings on the rise this time around, not least because the quality of football is the best it’s ever been.

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The broadcast rights should be worth a small fortune – FFA just needs to ensure we can actually tune in.

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