A-League demoted to SBS2

The a-league isn't "ethnic" enough for sbs, their entire reason of existence is to promote ethnic/multiculturalism rubbish.

agree mf its all looking a little gloomy for aus soccer at the moment

It's one channel flick to up or down not really that hard, just interesting they decided to move - agree with Waz's comments. However seems strange that soccer isn't being broadcast on a major channel it would be a major drawcard for withstanding fans [of which there are many]

Because of fixture bias. There were a lot more Victory games on SBS last season compared with the previous season. That fact alone explains most of the overall increase in ratings.

It's having to stare at men's bums going up a hill on a bicycle I find more offensive actually...

Good to hear

James agree your comments about the old sbs and the new sbs.

@Fuss "Given digital rights are likely to explode over the next 2-5 years, the FFA doesn’t want to lock anything in so early & for so long." This is where the NRL and AFL deals are different. The NRL has only locked in the FTA side and is hoping to tap into the digital rights side in the coming years - which has put Rupert's nose out of joint.. The AFL has locked in both FTA and Fox.

As long as the cheques are bankable, I don't think the AFL will lose any sleep. About half of the $2.5 billion is coming from Fox, who are cashed up.

Good post. Agree with you re SBS and I've said it before. SBS is not the growth path for football. It was absolutely suited to SBS in the semi-pro NSL days but the professional HAL needs to go mainstream FTA. That is, it has to be identified with the viewing habits of the broader community rather than the narrow sectional interest that is associated with SBS. So I'd be fine if the HAL was shown on one of the secondary channels of 7,9 or 10. That would be a step in the right direction. The interesting aspect of the recent NRL deal is that, unlike the AFL, it's only for the FTA component and they haven't yet struck a deal with Fox which meant that Rupert got shirty. The NRL may be gambling that they can strike lucrative TV streaming deals with providers other than Fox. Time will tell if the gamble was worth it.

My sources (media analysts at a major investment bank) tell me FTA networks & Foxtel have already put a deal to FFA for ALeague & WLeague TV rights for $60m/yr. Foxtel will maintain 5 live matches, but it will be non-exclusive. The FTA network will get 2 matches/week: Friday & Saturday night matches, plus 1 hour of highlights of all 5 matches. The main sticking points are: 1. SBS refuses to give up the TV rights that expire at the end of 2016/17 season. 2. Foxtel & the FTA network want full access to digital rights an they insist on the deal going right up until the May 2020 (5 year deal) and the FFA is not keen. Given digital rights are likely to explode over the next 2-5 years, the FFA doesn't want to lock anything in so early & for so long. So, if this information is all true, it suggests the FFA is confient of getting a $100m/yr deal with a 12 team competition starting in 2017/18.

Fuss,,even in Perth,the Socceroos game was delayed------ by around 30 minutes. I got home from the NIB Stadium,just as the Broadcast was finishing. This also happens with AFL games at Subi,as the TV Networks do all their manipulation of the raw video & sound in Sydney,rather than "on the run" in Perth,as they did in the old days.

On one level, you are correct, those who want to watch the A-League will watch it, we all know where it's on. But on another level, we can say: 1. SBS2 is the 2nd lowest rating channel amongst all of the FTA channels, only beaten by NiTV; and 2. you have the symbolism of one minute the commercials supposedly wanting to buy the product off SBS, and the next minute SBS putting the product on its secondary station because it rated poorly. That's not a move in the direction of getting it onto the commercials - that's a move in the opposite direction.

For the particular time slot in Perth it suits Seven to show AFL on 7Mate - so what (the AFL are still pocketing $2.5 billion). The thing is that that is not what is happening here with SBS - we're not talking about one market on the other side of the country, we're talking about everywhere - and this is how it has gone down: 1. SBS move A-League to main channel in the hope of big jump in ratings 2. big jump does not eventuate 3. soccer officialdom start sniffing around for a commercial FTA to take it over from SBS (with SBS's blessing I might add) 4. no takers 5. SBS puts the soccer back on SBS2 The central point is that this is not the sort of trajectory the FFA would be looking for in marketing itself to the commercial FTAs (where the big money is). Once the big jump in ratings didn't happen on SBS1 (meaning it was put back to SBS2), it's effectively all over red rover as far as a big money deal is.

The point surely is,that it doesn't matter what a channel's rating is overall---it's what it is when the "footy" or "soccer" are on that matter. Going from 70 to 73,or SBS1 to SBS2 is not a "demotion",as it will carry the advertising with it (which is vitally important),& also help to lift that channel's ratings. AFL & "A" League fans will still watch their games-----non-Sports fans will change channels. 70 gets good ratings from their normal programming------"Home & Away"(the soapie) probably outrates the Home & Away seasons of both the AFL and the "A" League. It mightn't be to your taste,but it knocks the socks off some of the recycled Yank crud on 73,which is the main reason for that channel's low ratings..

Fuss your argument is correct------the people who want to watch an "A" league game will look up the TV information, see what channel it is on & watch it. They won't get all bent out of shape because it isn't on the "main" channel! This is the same as people watching the AFL----most don't give a damn what channel the Game is on,as long as they see it. People who are watching for other reasons will say "Bloody Sport!" & change channels,so the normal rating of that channel has very little significance in comparing viewer numbers for Sport. The Seven Network has an ongoing presence in the Perth market,so when the question arose of Foxtel-only coverage of Fremantle & WCE games,they set up a special deal for Perth,knowing that FTA AFL viewers would "stay away in droves" from their regular programs for these times,& maybe watch NRL-------"shock!,horror!":) This would not be good for either the AFL or the 7 Network. The trade off is "shoehorning" games in wherever they will fit,so a game may be on 70,72,or 73. As I have pointed out "ad nauseum" in this forum,the SBS has no real presence in the Perth market,hence we get the derisory one or two Glory games FTA.

" 7 & 9 put there sport on their main channels " Not really,Mid! In WA,we often have AFL games on 72 or 73,but unlike "The Wise Men from the East",we know how to use a remote control. Of course we are only going to see one or two Glory games on the SBS in any case,so that is pretty much a non-event for us!

"AFL’s history books" Excellent...we now have a back & white answer from you finally. "The competition was no longer VFL, it became AFL." Mind linking me to any of these so called 'AFL history books', which corroborate your above statement?

"why do you believe the AFL magically started in 1987" Ummm ... because that's the way the AFL's history books relate the event. 1987 was the year the AFL introduced 2 new franchises - one from Perth & a franchise from Brisbane. The competition was no longer VFL, it became AFL. I'm truly curious. When do you say the AFL competition officially started? Was it in 1991 when Adelaide franchise entered the competition? Later, when Port Adelaide or Fremantle franchises joined?

"I don’t know if you were out of nappies in 1986" Childish as usual Fuss. "but the competition had 12 teams and 11 of the teams played in Victoria. 1 team had been relocated to play in Sydney, but the competition certainly wasn’t national in 1986." Never said it was...but thanks for that wonderful bit of info. "I was a member of a VFL club in those days, so I was a stakeholder in the competition." Is that suppose to make your comments more credible Fuss? "When did the AFL competition start?" I'm curious Fuss. Rather than me telling you (which by now I'm sure you know), why do you believe the AFL magically started in 1987?