If you can stomach Gary Lineker’s inane grin and Alan Hansen’s excruciatingly smug demeanour on your next trip to the UK, the BBC’s Match Of The Day is a wonderful means of catching all the goals flying in throughout the English top flight.
Crucially, the program is broadcast on the same night games take place and watching the highlights late on a Saturday or Sunday is somewhat of a ritual for legions of English football fans.
A similar program would be wonderful for the A-League, even if it’s impossible to replicate the naughty school-boy approach of Lineker and his giggling companions.
But obstacles in the A-League are many and I can’t see a free-to-air TV deal being struck any time soon.
We all know Fox Sports hold exclusive rights to broadcast A-League games and in my opinion that’s something they do extremely well.
We’re also familiar with the clamour from fans for some sort of free-to-air TV agreement, whether that’s one live game per week or merely a highlights package.
But the sticking point – aside from the fact Fox Sports essentially subsidise the A-League and are understandably reluctant to give away their own product – is that no free-to-air network has shown a willingness to stump up some cash and actually pay for it.
And that includes SBS.
As a long-time devotee with plenty of friends at the network, I’d enjoy watching the A-League on SBS as much as any fan.
But it seems to me the Special Broadcasting Service are quite happy to sit back and propagate the myth they’re interested in broadcasting the A-League, when it’s all too apparent they have neither the funds and perhaps not even the will to do so.
And those who insist the A-League ‘must’ be broadcast on SBS miss the point that somewhere along the lines, someone needs to pay for the rights.
Otherwise, the danger is that we end up with no product to broadcast at all.
That’s obviously why the A-League’s next TV broadcast deal is so vital and why analysts are starting to get itchy fingertips over Football Federation Australia chief Ben Buckley’s ability to negotiate a suitable deal.
According to press reports he’s already turned down a 2009 offer of at least $42 million per season, apparently in the belief he can negotiate a better deal.
One would hope he can, although Fox Sports have reputedly come back and suggested those figures were grossly overvalued and they’re no longer willing to pay anywhere near as much.
Whatever Fox Sports and their Premier Media Group owners decide future A-League TV rights are worth, it will be a lot more than free-to-air networks are currently willing to cough up, which seems to be the grand total of zero.
In an ideal world, free-to-air TV rights would offer the A-League much-needed exposure and help the game grow.
But we don’t live in an ideal world, we live in one where TV broadcast rights are packaged and sold to the highest bidder.
So unless a free-to-air network suddenly uncovers a long-lost treasure chest of gold, not to mention a sudden appreciation for the round-ball game, the future of A-League broadcasts appears to be on Fox Sports.
That’s the double-edged nature of Pay-TV.
When they’re the only broadcasters willing and able to pay for football coverage, it’s invariably the fans who have to to dig deep into their pockets to help pay the high production costs that such coverage entails.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
BigAl, you're simply not worth it.
BigAl
Guest
. . . mmmhh! . . . - I thought it sounded incredibly high . . .
The Cattery
Roar Guru
The NRL will get about $160 mill per annum. There is zero chance of the FFA getting half that - zero chance. Even getting a quarter of that is at the very extreme end of what's possible. $25 mill to $35 mill per annum would actually be a very good result. Even at $35 mill per annum, that's over double what the FFA get at the moment - but what has soccer achieved to be able to attract over double the last rights? I can't see it.
matty1974
Guest
Banaba, SBS will be screening live the Australian games, semi finals and final of the 2011 under 20 WC later this year and I will be one of many watching. Do you not recall the 1993 version held in Oz, check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_FIFA_World_Youth_Championship . Average attendance of 14,938 per match for a youth tournament!
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Very optimistic guess there Midfielder. Where will the money come from?
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Daniel, Even 30-40 million a year from Fox is not enough to finance the A-League in its current form. That would only give the clubs about an extra 1-2 million a season and won't pay half their bills. They have to stop thinking of the possible Fox deal as a saviour. They have to lift their game, do better, improve their teams standard and get more fans through the gate first. Fox has put all its eggs in the AFL basket and if they say no to the A-League, then FFA is stuffed. Intersting business model, but I think Fox has made a big mistake and will be short of cash when the A-League rights come around again. They will find like 10 & 7 did, that they paid too much for the rights and won't get the big increase in subscriptions or advertising revenue to pay for it. Fox might be in bigger trouble than the FFA, so don't count on their money to save the A-League. I don't want to see the A-League die either, but it ain't looking too promising at this point in time. I don't think people like Palmer and co will go on losing money for 28 years like the NSL did. But I sincerely hope to be proven wrong.
Midfielder
Guest
My guess is Football overall will get between 70 & 100 million per year ....
asanchez
Roar Guru
Daniel, If the FFA was offered $30-$40M per year today, I'm sure they'd sign up pronto with no questions asked. That would be a great outcome for the game. And I hope we get it! But at the moment it just doesn't look like it to me. However, our game doesn't need a $1B deal, we'd love to have it, but $30-$40m yearly would be a good start, and enough cash for the FFA to run the game. I'm sure some FTA networks are looking forward to biding for WCQ, and they will hopefully put up good coin to get the Socceroos WCQ on their channels. I know it's only 6-7 games a year, but they should get huge ratings, so it should essentially be 6-7 big TV events annually. This will make FFA more money. Hopefully the NZ tv money is good also.
banaba
Guest
punter and daniel, good luck !!, no FTA TV station in Aust will touch it with a"10 foot pole" or televise it (because there is no money value in it - unless daniel and punter donate a couple of million dollars and a few thousand viewers?)
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Yeah that is fine, a little bleak maybe (pragmatic maybe even) but certainly not abusive.
punter
Guest
I'd watch the U20 world cup. Messi, Ronaldo all came up via the U20 world cups.
Daniel Robinson
Guest
I'd Watch the U/20 World Cup. I watch the Rugby one when its on, its the best place to see the really awesome up and comers :) Oh and I'd have no problem to admitting to watching it..
Daniel Robinson
Guest
why? The A-League is not going to die - Foxtel is playing hardball at the moment its simply saying its our way or no way but the reality is Foxtel makes money from the A-League and international fixtures Its not in the best interests of Fox to allow the A-League to die anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised if Fox offers 20 to 30 million a year for the A-League and Sky sport offers another 10 million a year giving the A-League between 30 to 40 million a year to run the competition its not a great offer but its a improvement and will allow the FAA to function.
banaba
Guest
U/20 World Cup? who cares???, no one would watch it (or admit to watching it) - if it were, it would be another waste of taxpayers money !!, how about we (soccer fans) support the premier comp in aus - the Mighty ALeague!!!
BigAl
Guest
'Foxtel also sell the a-League games to 12 different networks around the world in 100 countries and gets about 30m a year from that' ?? Can you give a source for that bit of information ?
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Yes, while other codes are kept going from their large TV deals the FFA and the A-League will have to learn to live without it, if it can. If it can't and its losing as much money as they say, then maybe Australian football is better off without the A-League and the FFA just concentrate on their other competitions and profitable or government funded activities. The onus is then on the state federations to run their own state leagues.
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
Its unlikely a FTA will take on the A-League, apart from maybe SBS, but they can't afford much for it. Looks destined to be primarily on Pay TV for a while yet and the next Pay TV deal won't be that big - the opportunity has passed and we are in re-building phase again, which is a good time for Fox to buy it..
Peter Wilson
Roar Guru
That's just subscriptions revenue matty. There is also the revenue from advertising and promotions. Foxtel also sell the a-League games to 12 different networks around the world in 100 countries and gets about 30m a year from that. So in effect the Socceroos, A-League, Asian Cup and Asian Champions League doesn't cost Fox anything and they actually make about 15M profit a year from it before you even count subscriptions and advertising etc. - that's why they were prepared to pay a little more for it. The irony is that the international Pay TV audience will keep the A-League on Australian Pay TV, not just the local subscribers, because it is an international sport watched all around the world.
asanchez
Roar Guru
Let's not kid ourselves, this deal will either make the A-league or almost brake it! If Foxtel puts in a low offer, we'll have no choice but to go with it. Internet rights will help, but won't be enough. We are not in a position where we are a "must have" or a necessity for FTA networks. Maybe one day. Best case scenario is a highlights package, and maybe a match of the round, on prime time midweek, delayed from the weekend, to see if there's an appetite for the league. Either of these would be a step forward, without sabotaging ourselves in regards to the maximum tv rights deal possible with Foxtel. Were not exactly in a good position to negotiate. Whichever way FFA package it up, they need to squeeze out every dollar possible. I'm not sure what happens with the 2015 Asian Cup rights, the AFC are in charge of that, but if Foxtel can get them, that might just be the carrot we need, and our way of earning more money in tv rights than we would have otherwise. Also, the rights aren't being signed till probably the end of this coming season, so we probably have one more season to prove to Foxtel that we are worthy of a good deal. The FFA really needs to pull their finger out now, it's their last chance to market and promote the league better or if at all, fix up the playing schedule, and get the overall buzz back into the league, which will obviously put bums on seats. From here on there really are no excuses! I do foresee this season being a better one in terms of crowds, NQF are gone, which didn't help the numbers, the Melbourne derby will grow and intensify, teams like Adelaide and Newcastle are looking great, both on and off the field at the moment, and Perth should turn it around next season with all their new signings. The obvious concern being GCU, but hopefully they can scrap the ridiculous crowd cap, and they might get a small increase in attendances. You can no longer "build something build something, and people will come", it doesn't work like that in a competitive sporting marketplace. They need to get out on the Gold Coast and promote themselves and the game a lot better. On the pitch, we should see another cracking season, better than the last one, which was fantastic, capped off by a historic grand final. Head Office needs to use that and flaunt it to the masses. Hey it's not the Premier League, but it's a very close and entertaining league. Now that the league-wide contract with Reebok has expired, all teams can look like proper clubs instead of just franchises for once, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the clubs new strips and their sponsors. Here's hoping it's a very successful season 7, in all ways, then we can all look forward to a good TV rights deal! We sure need it....
The Cattery
Roar Guru
I see my comment was ambiguous, I was referring to the various NTs. The Socceroos are very popular, but it drops right away thereafter. The U20 WC might do ok, but the FFA doesn't own the rights to that, only to the qualifiers, and the qualifiers really don't attract a lot of interest.