Yesterday the FFA confirmed that the free-to-air rights to the next A-League season have landed, via Fox Sports, at Channel Ten.
Ten-owned One will simulcast Fox Sports’ Saturday night games as well as all of the finals matches and, one assumes, the grand final too.
As disappointed as the FFA must be that they weren’t able to sell the rights themselves directly to a free-to-air network – an arrangement that would likely have been more lucrative for them – this situation nevertheless holds nothing but promise for the sport in Australia. Of all the available commercial FTA options, Channel Ten was the most desirable, with Channel Seven stained by a chequered history with the round-ball game and Channel Nine very much focused on rugby league.
That the finals games will be shown live is also a huge improvement on the hour-delay SBS were forced to work under. I watched this year’s grand final while hopelessly cut-off from stable, non-mobile internet access – and, therefore, the Foxtel app – and was forced to enact a social media embargo while watching on SBS so as not to ruin the score.
How bitter-sweetly that memory segues us to the game’s departure from its traditional broadcaster.
SBS’s connection with football in this country has dwindled these past few years, especially over the past nine months, a period which saw Fox Sports amp up its coverage of the local league after losing the rights to the English Premier League, the next most popular football competition.
If the A-League is to stride purposefully into the Australian mainstream sporting consciousness, perhaps it inevitably must make those strides away from SBS. In truth, since the 2013 deal that awarded SBS partial A-League broadcasting rights alongside Fox Sports, they haven’t done enough to cement their claim to being the sport’s rightful free-to-air home.
Les Murray, such a beloved figure in this country’s football broadcasting tapestry, retired in 2014. David Zdrillic has not been an adequate replacement.
Craig Foster – in my view the best pundit in the country – has been a compelling, articulate voice in the football media for some time now, and one wonders exactly where his enduring association with SBS will end up now without the A-League rights. Foster is also central to the impressive southern expansion bid and is no doubt occupied somewhat by his role as the bid’s director of football.
(Image: AAP Image/Joe Castro)
SBS have made numerous attempts to build an attractive architecture around its football coverage, the foundation of which has been flagship program The World Game, but by and large most of the ventures have been either ill-conceived or poached by rivals.
The loosely-structured football variety program Thursday FC ran just five months, from October 2013 to February 2014, and was – up until the ABC’s infamous coverage of the recent friendly between Liverpool and Sydney FC – the holder of the title for most shudderingly unfunny football-themed program in Australian history. Earlier, successful attempts at a comedy football format – Santo, Sam and Ed’s Cup Fever, a genuinely hilarious accompaniment to SBS’s 2010 World Cup coverage – was quickly poached, first by Channel Seven, then by Fox Sports.
Speaking of poaching, many of SBS’s best pundits and commentators have also been lured into the cable TV family, with Andrew Orsatti, Simon Hill and Ned Zelic all now working in cable television having started their Australian media careers at SBS. Orsatti is at ESPN, Hill is Fox Sports’ best match caller and Zelic, with his own oddly endearing brand of sleepy-eyed irreverence, is one of Fox Sports’ most popular and meme-worthy colour-commentators.
As sincerely admirable as Craig Foster’s loyalty to SBS has been – he surely would have had lucrative offers to defect to Fox Sports as well – it would be a crying shame for him to continue to be under-utilised and under-exposed at SBS now that they have no A-League to show.
It appears as though Channel Ten will not try to put on their own A-League coverage, and this is a good thing – the Fox Sports team have put out an extremely palatable product this season, which has softened the sourness their obvious power over the fixture scheduling has caused.
Mark Bosnich is a perfectly jocular frontman, and his dynamic with the straightest of straight men, Mark Rudan, is very watchable indeed. The fact that the entire country will now be able to enjoy, live and free, a selection of well-packaged marquee Saturday night blockbusters is something that sends a lovely tingle down the spine of every person hopeful about the A-League’s future in Australia.
Perhaps we’ll miss it being the niche ‘other’ of Australian sport, tucked away on the kooky TV network. The cloistered, embattled existence of football in this country has bred a fierce sense of devotion, something that is most joyously apparent below the line on the Roar’s football tab. We don’t like to admit it, but we do get a sense of distorted pride from being sequestered so, like we’re part of a members club or a secret society.
It is difficult after playing second or third fiddle to the other codes for so long not to fetishise, even to revel in, the ‘us versus them’ mentality. This demeanour is not, however, conducive to growing the game, and the mainstream access Channel Ten offers is something that can open the sport up to new areas.
As the Special Broadcasting Service recedes into the rear-view mirror, the A-League is moving forward.
CrampsRowZ
Roar Rookie
I pretty much relate with everything in this article It'll be a shame to lose the joy of Viceland documentaries and average graphics interspersed with Ruben Zadkovich captivating the empty rows of Hindmarsh Stadium
Rolland
Guest
SBS soccer heritage was long gone years ago when it only got one game a week no preview shows and then moved the only. A league game to its secondary obscure channel that no one can find on their dial .thank goodness channel ten got the rights at least everyone can recieve the one channel with no reception problems .if sbs was serious about soccer they would have had the free to air rights to all the games. .its like Foz and Murray supporting a third Sydney A league team its madness Sydney fc doesn't not need another team based in its backyard . Do us all a favour Foz and Murray back a team that is good for the game the A league A team like Wollongong wolves fc on the south coast ,the south coast like the north coast deserves its own team.listen to the people of Wollongong we won't support or be part of a third wheel in a Sydney third team .
Gary
Guest
SBS shouldn't have handed the World Cup to Optus. They are now the lead football broadcaster in nothing.
Midfielder
Guest
Ben Well done the A-League is on Indian TV... and the NRL & AFL are on expat TV... well done Martyn...
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Ten 1 in India, I think. I watched a couple of games while I was up in Meghalaya & Assam. I don't think they are paying much, if anything, for it though as you never hear mention of it in the FFA reports. AFL and NRL get the Australia Network coverage, which is what I assume you are referring to. It is a smart move from AN as they cover a lot of the Pacific and parts of Asia where Australian expats are thick on the ground. They did have the A-League in the early years, but not for long.
Martyn
Guest
What channel is A-League on in India and Sri Lanka? Answer none. AFL and NRL are on.
Martyn
Guest
If any comments are dumb yours is a classic.
Ian
Guest
I noticed on the main football page that two comments from you had popped up....;-) it's hilarious that you made two dumb replies a whole day after the last comments were made........thanks Martyn50. What channel is AFL on in China?.....
Martyn
Guest
AFL followers and I dare say NRL followers don't care what channel its on as long as its on
Martyn
Guest
In fact it will be the opposite. The corners and the wild kicks on goal are the best parts the remainder are for adverts.
Nemesis
Guest
"You should note that the AFL is played when the NRL is played. And – I’ll point out the flipside of this – the NRL is played when the AFL is played." And, if you look at the FTA TV viewing numbers for the 5 major cities in Australia, even a High School student can tell you: In the NRL cities (Syd & Bri), NRL & AFL are not competing for fans In the AFL cities (Mel, Per, Ade), NRL & AFL are not competing for fans. You may like to pretend they are. They are not. In SYD, only around 45k people watch AFL (30k on FTA TV, 16k on Foxtel). About 10x that amount watches NRL. Same happens in BRI. In Mel, Ade, Per AFL dominates & NRL has minuscule viewing. If you think AFL fans are out there thinking "maybe I'll watch NRL instead of AFL today" you're delusional.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Nemesis "What I said was AFL, NRL & RU are played when there is nothing else on. " There's a couple of points here to what you think you're saying and what you'll find you're saying. You should note that the AFL is played when the NRL is played. And - I'll point out the flipside of this - the NRL is played when the AFL is played. At either end - you'll note part of the reason of there not being much else on - -because, when - as an example - the AFL had to start early then cricket complain, finish late and the Horse racing complain. Heck - even the FFA didn't want the AFL and NRL to compete with a FIFA WC. So - I suggest to you that domestic Aust soccer along with basketball are the examples of 2 codes that couldn't handle the heat in the kitchen (figuratively) and have to cope with the heat in the summer (literally).
northerner
Guest
Nemesis: oh yep. Absolutely nothing to look forward to, sportswise. Me, I'm watching the Stanley Cup (that's NHL) now. Tomorrow there's the French Open (that's tennis) to be followed by Wimbledon a bit later (also tennis) and the US Open (tennis again). We've got the Lions Tour just starting (that's rugby union.). And the Champions Trophy (cricket). The Giro has just finished and the Tour de France is next up, to be followed by the Vuelta (cycling). I might catch a League State of Origin though League isn't my favourite sport. The WSL is running an event in Fiji as we speak (surfing). MLB is underway (baseball). The US Open, British Open and PGA (golf) are coming up. The American horse racing season is underway and the British and French horse racing seasons are coming up as well. MLS has started (Toronto's looking good right now. The Whitecaps, not so much) (football). And interestingly, the AFL season is a bunfight with no team dominating at this point: I reckon their season will go down to the wire. But, quite right, nothing to watch. Unless, of course, you have this magical new invention known as the television, and a mind open to trying out different sports. Ever watched sumo? Variety is, after all, the spice of life.
northerner
Guest
Rick - glad to hear your family is okay. Europe is going to be in for a bit of strife, I fear, and we're not immune either. The new world order, but not as we expected it to be.
Neil
Guest
SBS and ABC have had in real terms significant funding cuts. SBS new managers have very little time for football other than the contracts they have. Wait until the next World Cup when most of the games have been hived off to Optus, because they do not give a shit about the tax paying football public.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Glad to hear the family is safe, Rick. It's never much fun being caught up in such events.
punter
Guest
All the best Rick. Hoping all family is safe now. Very sad times. All my wife's family are OK, thankfully.
Swanny
Guest
I don't follow the swans at all Newcastle jets unfortunately for me Do u follow the Caltex ?
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Its odd to say the least. There are people who never watch ABC or SBS. They just won't. For some reason some people have allegiances to channels, its really weird. As is the concept of "primary" channels. That made sense before everywhere was digital and multi-channel per network. But even now, people will look at 7,9 and 10 and not Gem, ABC2, Eleven or Mate. There's some sort of strange inertia thing, that sees people just ignore two-thirds of their FTA offerings. (OK, a lot of these channels are primarily rubbish but that is true of the "primary" channel as well. Actually, other than the cricket, I can't think of anything I watch on a commercial FTA primary channel.) I think its mostly older people who are afflicted by this, and I can almost comprehend it in places like Tassie which as late as the late 80s had one commercial station and the ABC. Almost.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Thanks, AD. She's fine, thankfully. I actually saw her in some of the footage of people walking with their hands on their heads before receiving a text from my father-in-law. As for the comments below regarding Iraq: I'll agree to disagree with you on some of your points, Fuss. Not a day for politics.