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With life bans, World Cup draws, Copa America finals and transfer dealings across Europe and beyond attracting most of the football media’s attention, it can be all too easy to forget that the 2011-12 A-League season is getting closer.
With a new season comes new hope that the publicity and promotion of the A-League will be an improvement over the last couple of seasons.
The A-League’s recent efforts have suffered due to overlaps with the September finals of the NRL and AFL and some less than stellar decisions being made by the marketing department.
A part of this package will be the coverage provided by Fox Sports and an article on 21 July discussed an interesting development.
It was reported that the FFA, A-League and Foxsports were making plans for A-League referees to be miked up for TV viewers for next season.
The article stated “…supporters’ understanding is greatly increased by hearing officials spell out their reasons for a decision, with respect for referees increased. Soccer officials hope that this will translate into their game, and encourage better behaviour among players aware they could be within range of a microphone.”
But there is another reason besides wanting to improve the behaviour of players and enhancing the understanding of decision-making which is hinted at in the article.
“Football Federation Australia is adamant it wants to press ahead with [the] move to bring the game into line with the other three codes.”
As a nation of sports consumers, Australians have grown accustomed to particular sports being covered a particular way. When watching familiar sports being covered by an overseas network, it can be a jarring experience to see the same sport presented in a different way.
Sports coverage is continually evolving and in some sports, Australian broadcasters are at the forefront of creating and delivering new content to viewers.
There is a certain familiarity that is created by having the same group of voices, camera angles and style of presentation associated with a particular sport. And Australians know what they like.
This is why is latest development should be seen as a positive development. By seeking to ‘recreate’ certain aspects of the coverage of other sports and translating them into football, the FFA is looking to create an overall product which has a familiar feel to it.
Whilst the on-field action will always differentiate football from the other codes, Australians have become used to officials being miked up and hearing them talking to players. This has proven to be a quite effective method in bringing viewers closer to the game and makes for a better product for television.
Growing football in Australia will require grabbing the attention of the channel surfing non-fan and holding it long enough for them to get interested.
Part of this is having an attractive product on the field, but another part involves the coverage being presented in a way which the viewers can easily relate to.
Fans of football may cry foul of any move to take coverage away from the traditional model that can be seen during events like the World Cup or the EPL because that is what they have become accustomed to, but any move which helps Australian viewers engage with the local game should be put forward.
The proposal to mike up referees fits in with an idea I expressed in a previous article where the administrators of the A League could offer themselves up as a guinea pig league where exactly this type of idea could trialled.
By bringing certain aspects of the coverage offered in other sports to the A-League, Fox Sports and the FFA may succeed in getting those Australians who don’t mind football but want a viewing experience which has a more Australian feel to it.
I’m reminded of a scene from the Eddie Murphy movie, Coming to America, where the owner of a fast food restaurant called McDowell’s explains the difference between his restaurant’s Big Mick and McDonald’s Big Mac: “They both contain two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions. But they [McDonald’s] use a sesame seed bun. My buns have no seeds.”
If it’s done right, sometimes associating your product with one which is already established and successful can be a very good thing.
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