Monday Night Football is becoming a huge chance in the next TV rights deal in 2012, with Network Ten at the forefront. Ten’s general manager David White believes that Monday night football would work well because of the competition being “bigger and more robust”.
Monday Night Football has been trialed a number of times in the past, but most recently last season at Etihad Stadium where Collingwood vs. St. Kilda drew 46,880 people.
In all the previous trials, the AFL has always chosen teams that have some of the largest supporter bases in the league. Schedule North Melbourne vs. Fremantle on a Monday Night at Etihad and this would be a nightmare.
The main problem with Monday Night Football is that ratings from fans in Western Australia would be severely effected.
If a Monday Night game in Melbourne were to start at 7:40 P.M live it would be shown at 6:40 P.M in W.A. Many people would be on their way home from work.
With daylight savings it would start at 5:40 P.M.
Vice-versa if Monday night football is played in WA at, say, 7:40 P.M. it wont start until 9:40 P.M. in Melbourne, which is far too late. Starting the game earlier in Western Australia to accommodate for the time difference would then lower attendances at the gate.
If the AFL is serious about making Monday Night Footy a reality then the AFL and networks need to find solutions to such problems.
The timeslot is perfect for Ten, which is probably the reason why they’re the front runners.
They could have regular programming on Channel 10 whilst they show live footy on One HD. They could then replay the match on Channel 10 later that night for those that haven’t made the switch to digital.
Monday night footy has worked in many other sports, there’s no reason why it can’t work for the AFL.
Why should we be limited to only three days of footy a week?
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Hopefully for all us sports lovers. But nothing is guaranteed.
arkie
Roar Rookie
Aren't the anti-siphoning laws changing sometime in the near future?
Redb
Roar Guru
I would relish Monday Night Football if live. Crowds would be lower but if played in the right markets it could work.
Dogz R Barkn
Roar Guru
With 9 games per round in the near future (and after that, maybe even 10), it's inevitable that both Thursday and Monday nights will get a regular go.
JamesP
Guest
Monday night football in Melbourne would be at the 7.10pm timeslot I think (used on Saturday nights too), so that the game is all done and over by 10pm...otherwise it gets too late for the kids. At that time slot, it could work....crowds would be low (unless high drawing teams were fixtured), but there is no reason that ratings would not be high. Start the telecast on a 30 min delay at about 7.30pm. By this time, everyone is home from work, and dinner has come and gone. Other option is to delay coverage to 8.30pm. This may encourage more people to attend the game... The AFL is all for maximising attendances, so Monday night footy is probably a step backward in that regards...however it could work in Perth due to the fact that new stadium is still probably a decade away and the WCE have a waiting list on memberships (i.e they have outgrown the 42k capacity subiuaco). Scheduling WCE for a Monday night game could still get a 40k crowd. However, they would need to play this game at say 6.40pm - which would mean live telecast in to Melbourne starting at 9.30. This is getting late (would finish after midnight) although The Footy show has shown that you can get very strong ratings from 9.30 - 11.30pm. Could seriously work in Adelaide though, as they are only half an hour behind (Adelaide have waiting list on membership too, so when new stadium is built, they are likely to sell it out week after week). If on Foxtel, it could be broadcast live (similar to NRL) and perhaps have a heavy focus on Gold Coast and Western Sydney - only due to the fact that QLD/NSW obviously would be more adapt to the Monday night football concept due to the NRL history. These are all options that need to be looked at. Demetriou has gone on record as saying Saturday twilight was the obvious time, but blind freddy can see that the networks would prefer monday nights due to more people whatching. So...TV money v attendances....we know which way the AFL has leant in the past...what about the future?
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
"The timeslot is perfect for Ten, which is probably the reason why they’re the front runners. They could have regular programming on Channel 10 whilst they show live footy on One HD. They could then replay the match on Channel 10 later that night for those that haven’t made the switch to digital." It's not allowed, even with the allowances you have made. That's why the rules need to change. Currently every sport must thats on the anti siphoning list must be shown on the primary channel first.
Black Diamonds
Guest
There will definitely be Monday Night Football from 2012 onwards, but there's no reason it has to be every week. It could be 16/24 Rounds, or something like that - with the extra game on a Thursday in some rounds instead (So the same TV network would get broadcast rights) Public holidays/ANZAC Day and such would also determine when this match would be played. In mid-Winter though, any Monday Night Game would most likely be played at Etihad, or in Perth or even Brisbane. There is no reason why the concept can't be shared around the country to maximise attendances.
Sven man
Guest
Agreed. With two new teams coming in, its a perfect oppurtunity. Bring it on!
bever fever
Guest
Perhaps thursday night footy or sunday night footy when their is a public holiday the day after would be the way to go. WA is the sticking point, being 3 hours in arrears. Hell by the time a game starts in WA on friday night at 8:30, the game is over in the east, and yet the ratings are pretty good.