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TEN wants AFL night final
TEN wants the AFL Grand Final at 5:30pm because day matches aren't in primetime ratings.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The push is on again for an AFL night final. Channel TEN’s general manager of sport David White has said “I’d like to see a 5.30pm bounce.”
“They (the AFL) know we’re very keen on a twilight Grand Final,” he told news.com.au
Mr White said he preferred a 7.30pm start but believed the AFL was open to a twilight match.
An AFL spokesman said the league remained committed to a day Grand Final although CEO Andrew Demetriou has previously flagged a twilight start.
Pushing the game towards 6pm would drive the audience into primetime ratings, giving TEN a better annual result at a time when advertising rates are being set.
Ironically the NRL Grand Final was pushed back to 5:30pm, even earlier in states that weren’t on daylight saving.
Source: news.com.au
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14 Responses
Leon, “the Game’s CEO” couldn’t care less about TV arrangements… just look at the northern states’ Friday night coverage (12am to 3am) as an example.
well there are pros and cons in every decision. tradition being a con here but, tv ratings aside, wouldn’t a twilight match make so much more sense.
I agree with ryan 5:30 fits into people’s day and celebrations so much better. if the GF becomes more of a party night. it would do so much for the footy culture.
Network Television shouldnt dictate Australian Sports!. It should be upto the Game’s CEO, not TV Land!
The AFL is not about tradition, its about money. They would sell their souls for the mighty dollar…
A night Grand Final is an awesome idea and will happen in the near future.
the afl always cave in and give what tv networks and sponsors want. what about just leaving at least one thing for the supporters.
stuff tradition even though i am an AFL fan myself
Ten can go and get stuffed!
Fingers Crossed the AFL will tell 10 and 7 that they have no plans for the future to make the Day Grand Final, a Night one. The best time of the day to play it is at 2:40pm.
The Grand Final has always been a day match. To put it on at a later time would ruin the whole tradition.
Newsflash — When Channel TEN’s general manager of sport David White said “I’d like to see a 5.30pm bounce”, he wasn’t talking about his cheque book. So, in line with current programming protocol, all future daytime Grand Finals will be ‘bumped’ at half time due to low ratings vs high costs and replaced by reruns of The Simpsons, MASH and yet another encore screening of Harry Potter 1, 2 & 3. There’ll also be irregular updates from the footy – ‘fast tracked’ within four weeks – with your host Happy Gilmore. And Kyle and Jackie O will bring it all home with their new show “Oops Where’s My Bucket?” You’ve gotta tune in to tune out. Deliriously.
i fully agree with ten! they shouldnt be making people drink so early in the day to watch the grand final!! 5.30 would be a much better time cause you can drink up to it and have a party and after celebrate! at 9pm
I see the point of the networks, but as an AFL fan im sure a majority of us would prefer to see a daytime GF rather than a night one
Tradition should still keep a place amongst the running of that one day in September
Yeah screw around with a hundred years of tradition for the sake of damn ratings bugger off 10.
I know of many people who live in the US (not expat Aussies) who are AFL fans. Every year they host Grand Final parties across the country on Friday night before the GF and stay up to watch the big time on Setanta Sports (due to time difference, the game does not start until 12.30am Saturday on the US east coast). They are opposed to the night grand final because local liquor licencing regulations will mean the parties will have to wind up well before the match starts.