Modern sport is about money. Sports that don’t have money often become very minor. Sports that pay their best good money are on the increase.
In Australia today, the AFL has signed a mega-deal, the NRL will follow soon, and rugby union already has a reasonable deal for the number of teams and media ratings.
The mistakes made by FFA have largely been driven by money or lack of it. Both the Gold Coast and North Queensland had wealthy backers and this is why they were chosen.
Many of the programs football has are because we lack money. No sport anywhere in the world operates without decent media money.
All the things we want A-League clubs to do or FFA should do is driven by money.
Three years ago, FFA made a decision to spend a large amount of its income on developing our youth. No arguments from me on this decision, but it did take money away from the promoting the A-League.
Football needs a good media deal to start phase-three of its rebirth.
However, can FFA do it by themselves as a single soldier up against the established media and their built-in biases? My feeling is that it is up to everyone in football to get involved.
What we as fans do is simple: go to games, take as many friends as possible to games, and watch on television.
The existing fan-base will do this, I am sure. But what about the other football folk, the old NSL folk, who still have issues with the A-League? Do they want the A-League to fold to prove football cannot work?
The European snobs say the local product is not good enough, so if you don’t support, then you are right.
I am not saying FFA and football generally should be free from criticism, but there does need to be some balance between the sheer number of negative articles and the good news stories.
As I see it, we all need to play our part in delivering the next media deal.
Fans, both active and those who stay at home, the football media, the clubs, the players, national teams; essentially the football family needs to help FFA with its case.
PeterK
Guest
I for one don't intend EVER to get pay-TV.
Tigranes
Guest
funnily enough the 2010 super 14 finals all took place in south africa...if they had outrated the HAL final then there would have been a real problem
Jack
Guest
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - FRANK LOWY COULD EASILY & FOR A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY, HAVE BOUGHT A STRATEGIC STAKE IN CHANNEL 10, WHEN IT BECAME OBVIOUS TO 'EVERYONE' WHAT MURDOCH & PACKER WERE UP TO & BLOCKED THEIR AMBITIONS & THEREFORE AFFORDING FOOTBALL IT'S LAST OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN A PLACE ON FTA TV BUT OF COURSE, HE CHOSE NOT TO AS TO DO SO WOULD HAVE ADVANCED FOOTBALL'S PROFILE & CAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - I CONTEND THAT THIS IS IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE THAT FRANK LOWY IS IN LOCK STEP WITH FOOTBALL'S WORST ENEMIES TO DESTRY THE GAME IN AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jake Stevenson
Guest
Well done striker, you passed the maths exam! -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Midfielder
Guest
You could be right but people want it in a hurry ... meaning they find it hard to wait...
The recalcitrant
Guest
You cannot renegotiate 'deals'. Fox Sports will tell you where to go. They are currently losing money by covering every match live. The A-League just needs to keep improving and that will sell itself. Soccer people need to stop looking at silver bullet solutions all the time. You tried it for decades with the NSL and look where that ended up. You cannot just plant something and expect it to grow overnight. It takes years and years and years for something like a sporting league to grow. The AFL has been going since the 19th century, what we see today is the same comp that was there back in 1897 with a few extra satellites tacked on. In fact it was going in the 1860s with a few variations. Just chill soccer people, it will take generations.
jamesb
Guest
The big mistake the FFA made was they didn't re-negoitate the current TV deal when they expanded to areas like Gold Coast, Nth Qld and Melb Heart. Instead the FFA are still receiving $17 million a year. The FFA should had re-negotiate the deal to roughly $23, or $24 million. That would've covered the new teams coming in, and more money for promoting the game. In the future, I do think with the NBN coming soon, possibly 5 years from now, the FFA should be looking to new media to generate revenue. Whether its social media, online, mobile etc. Thats the future. Once the A-League starts growing in those new media outlets, then it would become attractive for FTA executives. In the next media deal if I was Ben Buckley, I would sign a tv deal that only goes for 3 to 4 years, which would end the same time when the NBN comes in. The NBN will open up new possibilities.
nordster
Guest
yep and therein lies the problem ... perhaps its a case of looking abroad for media investment.
Elifanti
Guest
Some of these clubs failed to muster decent support, but they weren't all woefully run. For example, Gippsland did very well to survive a few seasons in the top flight, having such a tiny population to draw from.
DaveP
Guest
My 7yo son plays soccer (as does all his friends) partly thanks to the efforts of the FFA. I've never been to an A-league match but will this year as will a lot of the other parents at the school. The focus on youth will pay off but may just take longer to realise.
BSG
Guest
The NSL failed because of woefully run clubs like brisbane strikers, northern spirit, parramatta power, canberra cosmos, wollongong wolves, gippsland falcons, carlton, collingwood warriors, yet Lowy and his cronies at ffa love to use the 'ethnic' excuse, hopefully the a-league won't be around for much longer
steven ellis
Guest
'visionary media proprietor" haha...in Straya commercial media 'innit? still stuck in the 1970's and run by the 'ol boys club ' ..same boorish collection of middle age VB/ Tooheys drinkin footy luvin white blokes ..
Football United
Guest
use electronic pitch side signs, have the commentator say something like "this corner brought to you by QANTAS, Supporting Australian Football" with a logo of qantas going across the bottom of the screen. plenty of ways to make Football on FTA work
Football United
Guest
get ffv cup on tv!
Elifanti
Guest
The ingredients are all there - it's simply a matter of assembling them.
Striker
Guest
Thanks Peter i couldnt agree more in time with unity the game can only grow it has massive numbers that follow the game, look if the A-League can replicate the Grand Final 2011 i cant see why the game cant reach its potential as that game was a ripper.
Jay
Guest
Well... does packer believe in the biggest loser? Looking at him, clearly not.
Striker
Guest
I was an NSL supporter as well but Frank Lowy had nothing to do it collapsing, there needed a change , most ex -NSL players welcome the A-League , im sure in time those players and teams from the NSL will be appreciated and recogonised for what they have contributed to the game, get over the blame game were the only sport that is not united and we wonder why the game will never get to its potential.
Jay
Guest
Why do people think there are hidden agendas with the media execs? Packer and Murdoch are businessmen before RL fans. They will flog any product be it on pay tv or FTA if there is a dollar to be made. Football in this country has not provided any commercial value for the A-League to be broadcast on FTA. As for Murdoch/Packer raid on Ten blocking any change of selling rights to FTA - can you please explain how that works? If the A-League wants FTA, there is still Channell Nine or Channel Seven (or SBS) to broadcast. Ten is not a market leader when it comes to sports rights, its a player but its actions do not dictate what the others do.
Jay
Guest
The DT rant on about league becuase it sells papers. A story about Todd Carney gets more hits and sells more papers than the fantastic A-League GF last year. Sad but true. I dont subscribe to the theory that if your sport saturates the local media that people will flock like sheep towards it. The AFL's coverage in Sydney has exploded exponentially - Im not implying that the AFL are behind this, but for some reason there is a far greater amount of coverage dedicated to the AFL than there is a demand for it. This might win the occasional fan, but it can backfire and build resentment.