We can expect more Thursday night games if the A-League expands, since TV broadcast rights are effectively underpinning the competition.
Central Coast Mariners and the 5000 supporters who turned out to watch them defeat Perth Glory 2-0 in Gosford last night deserve some credit.
Central Coast’s chief executive Shaun Mielekamp may have complained that the midweek scheduling did his team no favours at the gate, but the Mariners at least look a much tougher outfit under Paul Okon than they did last season.
And if the next TV broadcast deal is supposed to be worth $80 million per season – as so many A-League fans on social media will tell you – then can we really complain when broadcasters want midweek football to help fill their schedules?
The Thursday night kick-off may have inconvenienced Mariners fans last night, but guess what? I watched the game on Fox Sports and I sincerely doubt I was the only person to do so.
It may have escaped the attention of the average A-League punter, but the NRL released its 2017 fixture list yesterday with one glaring new addition.
A 6pm Friday kick-off has been added, and judging by comments from NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg, they’re not too concerned by the prospect of no one actually showing up to watch it.
“Fans will be able to see two games live on Fridays and, while the early game may present some challenges in terms of attendances, we think it will be a big hit,” Greenberg said.
So it’s clear broadcasters have an increasingly large say in the way sport is consumed in this country.
With that being the case, why doesn’t Football Federation Australia simply ask prospective A-League broadcasters who they would most like to see as expansion teams?
Because, if we’re being serious, surely a Tasmanian bid has to come into contention for the potential TV audience it could generate alone? Or if that metric is completely irrelevant, then why were the Wellington Phoenix handed a four-year licence extension last year?
David Gallop’s oft-repeated “fish where the fishes are” comment appeared to rule out much of regional Australia for a potential expansion place. But surely a far greater concern is FFA botching expansion by placing clubs in already saturated markets?
If Gallop wants to understand how having too many clubs in one city can affect a marketplace, he need only look to his former employer to watch nine Sydney-based NRL clubs battle it out in watered-down derbies each week.
Placing a ‘southern Sydney’ team in the A-League will not only cannibalise Sydney FC’s support, but it’s unlikely to tap into a new TV market either.
And as Matt Connellan explained, combining a southern Sydney bid with a team from Wollongong is a huge mistake. Just ask St George Illawarra fans.
The A-League already has two ready-made expansion markets available in Wollongong and Canberra, so if neither of those two cities are viable options, then it’s incumbent upon FFA to do due diligence on a Tasmanian bid as an alternative.
My concern is that FFA is going to rush the expansion process and end up with clubs in markets it can’t sustain – namely Sydney’s south and Brisbane.
A second Brisbane side is a pipedream unless it plays out of a redeveloped Perry Park – and that’s a big if considering how much work needs to be done to bring the ground up to standard.
Any talk of a Logan or Ipswich bid invariably comes from fans down south who seem to have little understanding of the geography or demographics of Brisbane.
If FFA wants a ready-made club to step into the breach, they’d be better off bringing South Melbourne into the A-League.
But if they’re serious about TV metrics, they should run the numbers on Tasmania.
That particular bid may have come from left field, but when the fish jumps into the boat, sometimes the best thing to do is simply whack it over the head.
Sn6
Guest
I see your point but to take an unbiased pragmatic approach The shire team would be 25kms from Sydney FC's stadium and in an area that has growth index that's 1/4 the national growth average. Campbelltown is equally 40kms from parramatta and Moore Park and is an area with a growth index that's 6x the national average. This would make Campbelltown the best choice in the long term if there had to be a third Sydney team. Wollongong would be the best choice in the short term and the people of the shire can then decide who to support.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Lionheart He didn't ask a question, he made a statement. The Jets came in upon the establishment of the A-League (and there were very good reasons, as I have already covered). That was then, and we are talking now. The FFA is gradually working out the necessary formula for commercial success (upon which everything hangs). Ratings => broadcast revenue => higher sponsorship revenue How do you get higher ratings? Well, it helps if you have teams in the five capital cities (because that's where the ratings are focused). It helps even more if you are concentrating teams in the two biggest capital cities: more people, more derbies, bigger media interest, bigger crowds, broader public appeal, sponsors lining up, etc. Put a team in Tassie and as far as broadcast revenue is concerned, it may as well be in Antarctica (which is appropriate given the Antarctic Division is located in Hobart).
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Agreed. I've said it a few times already: Hellas and Wolves are looking the most likely.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Great point.
AR
Guest
Fuss: "That would be far more appealing than the generic “everyone plays out of the big empty stadium” that happens in other sports." Playing out of the "big empty stadium"...such as MV at Etihad, MCFC at AAMI, SFC at Allianz, WSW at Spotless, BR at Suncorp, Nix at Westpac etc.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Last night's ratings (Note: these are for a Friday night game): Wsw v bri 65k foxsports 49k sbs
Mister Football
Roar Guru
It seems people don't understand that Tassie is so unimportant to TV and it advertisers that they barely bother counting what Tasmanians are watching on TV.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Before the Government stepped in, a Pay TV broadcaster was going to pick up the rights for a song - because there were no other bidders. Anytime the Government needs to step in to buy the broadcast rights of a whole league, you know something has gone awry. Not that we needed another example, but it provides a good indication of why Argentina and its government is broke.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
"As far as I know AFL & NRL don’t ever compete for eyeballs with the Australian Cricket Team?" Not often. Only really for Ashes in England once every four years and some World Cup, depending on seasons and timezones of the hosts. A bit more for often pay TV, but that's another thing with lower profile away tours and only an option for a third of households anyway. So can essentially be disregarded.
BigAl
Guest
Yep ! - another thing that changed during the years you were away in Nigeria.
punter
Guest
RF, no Northern NSW similar to being outside the country in regards to AFL.
Midfielder
Guest
PB Your analysis is mainly how the FTA networks see the world.... pay TV and Telco's are looking for subscriber numbers... Match and team numbers do add to the subscriber list... the link I posted for N from Fetch TV above is an example of this.... Optus have many times exceeded what they believed they would with the EPL. Things have worked out quite nicely for Optus since they bought the EPL rights. 300,000+ extra. Thats a lot of subscribers even in AFL terms see the Fethh link again. Also FFA are in media negotiations now, and you do not impose an arbitrary short term deadline on the bidders unless you are in a position of strength and are just trying to flush out the last few dollars from the bidders. FFA have place a 9 December deadline on all bidders ..... I am quietly confident of a reasonable figure.... however you may be right and it will be 50 to 60 million ...
Realfootball
Guest
With you there.
Realfootball
Guest
I've watched football there. It is horrendous.
Realfootball
Guest
Another poster in la la land about Tasmania.
Realfootball
Guest
Now there we agree.
Realfootball
Guest
Years of therapy, shock treatment... But mostly just moving to a better climate. That meant about 2000kms. And no, Punter, northern NSW is not a bit similar. Now if I had moved to Melbourne...
Realfootball
Guest
Yep, well I work in the film industry, and I can tell you that in an industry with more than passing similarity to football in terms of raising money for large, costly and most likely loss making enterprises, that would not convince me for a moment. So in fact the answer is yes - your source for the information is media reports.
Realfootball
Guest
Marineresque - I like it. I note that you slipped the Hellas pin in there again, MF. Two threads now and no bites. Ah well, if at first you don't succeed...
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Winning a couple of Shields isn't the same thing as financial viability. State cricket isn't exactly funded by its own attendance or television. Its mostly funded by the proceeds of internationals and their TV rights, plus now the BBL TV rights. In terms of international cricket attendance, its gone down the drain since the novelty wore off. To the point that the next six Test summer will include Manuka Oval and not Bellerive.