TV rights (and wrongs) in the A-League

Simple realy, free tv has more views and that means more um mmm what do you think!!!, it worked for v8 super cars

Reading this I tend to agree with a number of caveats and concerns regarding any future TV deal and what it might do to our game, without any clear solution to strengthen the bargaining position of the game for TV rights and keeping the integrity of the games to be shown. Simply put, there is no quick fix and no easy solution that involves both. I would like to see the idea of SBS having TV rights with perhaps some form of governmental subsidy supporting the league in the absence of a pay-TV deal that destroys the character of our sport

the idea that Football doesnt lend itself to advertising is a bit of a misnomer. why cant they run scrolling ads along the bottom of the screen at corners, throw ins and goal kicks. it doesnt have to be a traditional ad break as such. Also with the electronic advertising hoardings around the grounds now. the potential for exposure is far greater than a 15 second tranditional commercial. the other day i counted how long i could see a sponsors logo for in about 5 minutes of game time it was visible for more than 45 seconds. Just needs a different, more creative approach, but I've got no doubt advertising can be catered for without abusing the integrity of the game as well.

When talking about FTA, I think it's an exaggeration to talk of it "dying", rather, its ubiquity has been gradually diminishing the past 5 years or so, a process that will continue, perhaps at a more rapid rate, but in no way are mobile devices ready to take over from TV in terms of ratings and capacity to pay the same amount that TV currently pays. The new media will catch up, and probably overtake TV, but that will take longer than a few more years - it's difficult to guage - there are surprisingly large numbers still wedded to TV.

the answer to a-league football being shown on TV will revolve the introduction of a new rule to be brought in- after every 'out of bounds' of the ball behind the goals and before the goalkeeper restarts play, there will be a mandatory 15 seconds break. We may lose the quick goal kick from a keeper but that's ok. 15 seconds is long enough to show an ad, and occurs often enough in a game of football

Speaking to a colleague during the week who listened to an ABC executive talking about TV viewing habits (yes it sounds like "my brother spoke to a taxi driver who heard that ..."), FTA is "dying" in importance amongst teenagers and 20/30 year olds - the online world is their playground. This means that A-league MUST have internet content and streaming to smartphones and tablets as part of the next deal.

Just to make one thing perfectly clear so that nobody get's there hopes up. There will be no live A-League on free to air TV. However, there will probably be a highlights package on free to air.

Some very interesting facts in a smh article today… I will copy part of a much larger article below to highlight my point… """"Let’s talk facts. Television ratings – up 80 per cent. Crowds – up 49 per cent. Membership – up 17 per cent. Website traffic – up 30 per cent. Early days, perhaps, but they’re still good numbers. It’s great timing, given negotiations for the next TV deal are due to start early next year. ”Our partners have never been more satisfied with the work we’re doing to bring the TV deal to life,” Gorman says. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/a-league/clever-strategies-help-turn-aleague-around-20111125-1nz0r.html#ixzz1emJ7Bs5p """"

The big money will be from;- Pay, Online & Applications.... whoever is chosen as the FTA broadcaster the price paid will not be huge... but broadcast times will be embedded into the contract... which will not be that hard as most of the A-L is played outside the AFL & NRL seasons... The FTA will be to assist Fox ... Fox actually understand this..... Fox want a limited FTA deal it helps promote their product...

Hard to argue with your points cattery.

I think you are right. I read elsewhere (smh perhaps?) that a big part of FFA/ a-league promotion this season has been to 14-24 year olds and it is in these fields you mention that this age group operate in more and more versus the traditional means of tv etc.

theres other platforms to consider in the next tv rights deal. such as online and phone. In that SBS forum that Buckley was a part of 6 months ago, he did mention that he wanted the game to be avaialble in many platforms, such as tablet devices.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Regardless if SBS are the best option for the A-league in terms of money, perception, reach, whatever, they are still the only FTA channel, possibly along with the ABC that would show the games in a good timeslot, even if they pay peanuts for the rights. And they would market and advertise the he'll out of it. I'm not a pro-SBS man by any means, but these are just the facts!! CH 7,9,10 would only give us what we need, which is primetime games, if they paid a ridiculous amount for those rights. Which to be honest, I can't see happening anyway. What I can see happening though, especially if we go chasing these channels for coverage, and virtually give the rights away for nothing is what is happening to the SUPER 15'S show on channel 9 starting at 1am, or the NBL games starting at 11pm on ONE, which probably has marginally better reach and viewers than Foxtel. Also the 'Nobody screws Soccer like 7' slogan is never too far away from my mind. We all know what happened there. FTA isn't the golden child many people think it is. It could do damage than good for the game. I think long term, say the next rights deal in 2018, if the league keeps growing we might see 7,9 & 10 execs scrambling to get the rights. But I think right now, we aren't ready for FTA. Take the money from Foxtel, hopefully more for exclusivity, build up the league, cash up the clubs, bring in better players, build infrastructure, academies etc.

The AFL managed to up its TV rights deal recently by effectively having two stations show four games at the same time per round. So a possible strategy for the FFA, and you'd think Buckley would be thinking along similar lines, is to allow Fox the full regime of A-League games, all exclusively live, while allowing an FTA station to pick up a match of the round game on delay. Buckley would have to convince Fox that that's in the best interests of everyone, including them, while snaffling some extra coin from the FTA broadcaster. The advantages are that Fox retain their exclusivity to all live games, the game gets exposure on FTA, but since it's on delay, the commercial station can present the match of the round in a neat hour package, stuffed with a few ads. As I said in an earlier post, you have to give value to the broadcasters, you have to let them have a bit of a win, you need to be willing to sell a little bit of your soul.

The answer is the FFA demanding that Foxtel give up it's exclusive rights and on sell a weekly highlights package to anyone. How many people do you think were introduced to EPL from the weekly highlights package? Fox keeps the big subscriber content and FFA gets exposure to a wider fan base. Effectively Foxtel would be advertising their package on FTA. Perhaps this is what Foxtel have tried and it is the networks that don't want to advertise a competitors product... -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.

I understand that the FFA wants and the clubs need cash. But is it worth say getting an extra 10 million over 5 years (for example) so it goes to a so-called "mainstream" station where it is treated like Channel 7 used to treat football. The game does not lend itself to what the commercial stations are after ie: advertising dollars. And it will always mean that being on "mainstream" means being on after Letterman and Entertainment Tonight. The question then beggars, would you prefer to be on at 1130pm on Go or 7Mate, or SBS live in Prime Time. I believe that we jumped way to early when we went to Channel 7 all those years ago. And it is still too early. We need to get maximum prime time exposure right now, to get people knowing about our League. Channels 7, 9 and 10 will only make our product available to insomniacs and people returning home from Nightclubs. Once the whole nation has access, and our crowds start to grow, only then will the "mainstream" stations start to treat us like a viable product. At the moment they know that the diehards, imsomniacs and clubbers will make them the highest rating shows in that "vital" 11pm - 2pm timeslot, so thats where we will go, rather than live in prime time. The few extra million that we will get from it is okay in the short term, but will just be a band aid solution.

The old "just give it to SBS 'cos they know what they're doing and we're used to them" argument just doesn't hold any water in the real world. FFA wants and the clubs need, cash value for the product, and SBS has no money, especially after lashing out millions for the World Cup rights til god knows when. FFA also wants to move away from the perception that its an "ethnic" game watched only on an "ethnic" channel, (I'm not saying I agree by the way), so there's next to zero chance of the A-League being on SBS. The article is written from a football romantic piont of view. Don't tweak the rules of the game, give the coverage back to SBS. Nice sentiments, but the world moves on, and the reality is, football has moved on from SBS.