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I was chuffed with the recent announcement of the new broadcast rights deal for football in Australia. As a Foxtel customer, I was hoping things would stay the same.
Foxtel have invested vast sums in producing a quality coverage, been there from the outset, and while having an obvious commercial interest, should be commended for what they have done for football in this country.
I’m sure the on-air Foxtel team high-fived in unison when the deal was finally brokered. Six years of job security is a rare thing in the fickle entertainment industry and the on-air talent should retain their jobs as long as they avoid catastrophe and mind their Ps and Qs.
The contributions of John Kosmina, Ned Zelic, Mark Rudan, Mark Bosnich, Adam Peacock and Robbin Slater have been pleasantly understated, yet at the same time, insightful.
Tara Rushton is a treat as an anchor and apart from the irritating Daniel Garb, who continues to refer to the Wanderers as the ‘wonderers’, listen carefully it’s hilarious, the hosts and associated experts have struck a nice balance.
The sum of all the parts is that Foxtel will continue with their coverage and a free-to-air channel (no doubt one of the losers in the battle for the big bash rights) will pick up a Saturday night game.
And thus, for the next six years I will continue to get quality coverage, commentary and analysis, all for around fifteen cups of coffee a month.
While some baulk at the idea of paying for television coverage, they generally only see the rubbish excreted by commercial networks and their quality sensor is significantly lowered. The big bash is a prime example of the shameless cross promotion and over-commercialised product often dished up by the major networks.
While fair to point out that Foxtel are in it for the same reasons as the Nine, Ten and Seven, they are less likely to get away with coverage similar to the nonsense thrown up by the commercial stations who seem to feel bulletproof when it comes to viewer sentiment.
Purchasing the rights to events to lock out other networks, such as Nine’s Ashes coverage years back when they failed to even televise the first session, as well as showing NRL in standard definition for years until finally introducing their HD alternative in 2016 were both insults to consumers.
The different networks Australian-centric Olympic and Commonwealth games’ coverage, is a further example. Coverage of these major events is offensive to sport lovers. who may actually want to see the more obscure events, the winners of all competitions and some international athletes rather than an over-romanticised, nationalistic greeting card that borders on propaganda.
Seven’s Australian Open tennis coverage suffers from the same cringe and it’s not until all the Aussies are eliminated that the coverage actually begins to pay attention to those players with an actual chance of success, rather than Aussie wild cards who seem only important one month of the year.
Someone needs to tell network seven that she isn’t actually ‘our Sam.’ Sure, good player, enjoy watching her battle away, yet no more so than the couple of hundred other players in search of glory at Melbourne park.
Foxtel’s coverage of football has been consistently good and never treated its fans in ways similar to those listed above. The new deal is heartening for me and other subscribers, yet deep down there is a fear that this will be the last hurrah.
Fast forward to 2021 and ask, Where is football? Personally, I think bigger and better.
Average crowds in excess of 15,000? Club membership in excess of 150,000? Continued participation rates across junior levels that see it as Australia’s number one game in terms of exercise and team play for our kids? The new funding providing the opportunity for top quality marquee players to come and ply their trade in our league?
Personally, I feel the answer to all of these questions could be yes in six years’ time. If that is the case, the commercial networks will circle.
The bandwagon networks will climb on board and attempt to steer the digital and broadcasting future of the game, despite little or no involvement in the foundation work that Foxtel and the FFA have done to grow the game.
What scares me the most is that one of the big three will win the rights and over-commercialise the product.
As football continues to grow, the next deal could be worth double the one just struck. Some might think this is fanciful, yet the beast is growing at a rate that is actually starting to make inroads into the broader supporter base on the Australian sporting landscape.
If the unthinkable happens and a commercial network does acquire the keys to the colossus that is football, what will it look like?
Perhaps the most hotly disputed issue will be the positioning of advertisements. It would be foolish to think that a commercial network will be able to afford to eliminate ads whistle to whistle. The day a goal is missed while I am bombarded with useless information about KFC’s latest bucket will be a sad day for football.
No doubt commentators would need to be poached from all corners and who they target would be interesting. Unfortunately, they would also make desperate clutches for instant credibility with a ‘name’.
Would they throw millions at Les Murray, Craig Foster or perhaps Mark Bosnich. Bosnich would probably be number one on the list at the moment. He brings international cred as well as a willingness to challenge the establishment and a slightly looney persona that is popular with viewers.
A natural by-product of a future commercial deal would be shameless cross promotion. The day I saw Richie Benaud lurching towards me from behind jungle vines wearing a pithe helmet during Nine’s cricket coverage, I knew they had reached a new low.
Listening to Nine’s commentary team ‘plug’ upcoming shows on their network is artificial and insulting.
Where the network might stick microphones concerns me greatly. The idea of a ‘miked’ up goalkeeper or Besart Berisha being interviewed post goal celebration ‘big bash’ style makes me cringe.
Furthermore, the network’s use of gadgets with cheesy names and questionable purposes gives me chills. A sweeping ‘spidercam’ gadget hovering across the pitch, distracting all and sundry is something to really look forward.
It will also be great to switch on at 7.30pm for a bit of pre-game and a 7.45 kick off, only to watch a drawn out, advertisement laden, melodrama that extends well past eight o’clock.
State of Origin is the biggest culprit in this area and we can only hope that a deal with a commercial network doesn’t allow start times to be continually delayed with viewers forced to watch a pontificating ex-coach walk across the pitch, rambling on about things of which only he seems certain.
Apparently the future of league, according to their recent advertisement campaigns using the brilliant Erin Molan to tap into markets they have neglected in recent times, is the kids. It might be nice if they started the games early enough so young kids can see the end.
Origin on school nights ending at 10.30pm? Are these people even thinking?
Where the Socceroos fit into all of this is of major concern. They are the jewel in the crown and hopefully there are two successful World Cup qualifying campaigns before the new deal.
If that does prove to be the case, the value attached to the national team could be considerably more than where it currently stands.
It will be the FFA’s role to protect that Socceroos jersey and ensure that the balance between and intricacies within the local league and the national team are considered in planning and implementation.
Imbedding a level of flexibility to allow for expansion, growth, the W-League and natural evolution and attrition will also be vital.
An immense task, and I feel personally, one too important to hand to commercial networks that have long histories of corporate interests being far more influential than the voices, concerns and opinions of those actually watching.
I’ll sit back and watch my festive football campaign on Foxtel with ten games in eleven days and bask in ad free, HD football with excellent broader coverage outside the actual matches.
All the while, I’ll be hoping Foxtel strike a similar deal in six years time with the only difference being the financial figure attached.