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Even more AFL by 2012?

The AFL is considering adding two more teams to its leagues by 2012.

The idea follows the reluctance of the North Melbourne club to relocate to the Gold Coast, despite a lucrative package on offer.

According to The Age, AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick outlined the expanded competition plans to channels Seven, Nine, Ten and Foxtel in Sydney before Christmas.

“We’ve spoken to the networks and they are very keen to get more content. It’s quite clear the Melbourne clubs have emotional attachments and infrastructures they are not prepared to relinquish.”

Teams are under consideration for the Gold Coast and Western Sydney. The league has begun packaging a nine-game per round, home-and-away season in readiness.

Nine executive Jeff Browne, whose network plans to bid with Foxtel for the media rights beyond 2011, said, “I have a policy of not discussing any talks we might have with the AFL.”

Source: The Age.

8 Responses

  1. Southpatt, if your finding all channels have sport then maybe its a higher power trying to tell you to peel yourself of the couch, go outside and do something more physical.

  2. Hey Stan 🙂

    Yes SD/HD is a non issue for me and I suspect a lot of other people out there as well. My tv’s are capable of both and one box but I have the SD on the main Tv as it is also a pvr and I can’t see the improvement in a HD broadcast.

    However the Government is still running flat out trying to force HD upon us when what we really want is content.

    Sorry. A bit off topic – To get back on – More channels – all free – to give the people what they want (including football) Idealistic, but we can hope 🙂

  3. Hi Southpatt,

    I wasn’t trying to be critical of anybody. I was just trying to make a point that sky is not falling down and by the time AFL expands the analogue channels (hopefully) will be gone and commercial stations will add some extra channels for our entertainment and gave Foxtel run for their money, which of course is great.
    HD or SD is a non issue, because soon all set top boxes will support HD and they are cheap as well I just bought one for $90, because I needed another one for the spare TV in my bedroom. 🙂

  4. Ahhh Stan.

    If you like sports all good and well.

    If you do not, then it is sad when you can not find a single channel that is not showing sport, and it has happened to me on more than one occasion.

    Yes. happy for the channels to fill their mux with other programs but you still need advertising dollars for decent shows and the commercial stations are hard up at the moment.

    I also believe the government is not allowing these stations to broadcast any more content on new sister channels till next year (please correct me if I am wrong) and again the new channels must BE HD – not SD

    Your suggestion though, is good. A separate channel for sport. I’m all for it 🙂

  5. I don’t understand why is everybody so upset about more footy on TV. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the stations create a separate sports channel once we all move to DTV.
    You are aware that every TV station has multiple channels they can use, the same way ABC has created 1, 2, 3, etc., so can others do the same thing.
    Therefore stop winging about more AFL, you might not even know it’s being shown.

  6. Likewise. Not a Football fan. However, let me weigh in with my opinion.

    The former VFL wanted to make it a national competition to protect their own backsides and generate interest in the sport and $$$ marketing it to line the pockets of the players and the controlling body execs.

    ALL the Victorian Clubs were given automatic entry to the field while other states had to create purpose built teams.

    Victorians had their cake and stuffed themselves with it at the same time. The VFL was elevated to the AFL and the VFA was elevated to the VFL.

    Other states struggling football leagues just took another kick in the guts as they basically became second string clubs by association.

    You only have to look (if you can find any news footage of the game) at the empty bleachers at these local state games to see the impact that this national competition has had.

    Well you wanted it! You got it! A national competition, that means teams from all over the country. Get used to it and get used to losing to more! non-Melbourne clubs.

    Oh.. and prepare yourself for some more attrition. The league can not support so many teams and with new teams being formed, some will just be allowed to die… They nver expected some to last this long anyway 🙂

    Have to go and tape some things now to watch for when there is just endless football on every channel

    [End Rant]

  7. I’m not an AFL fan at all – but my family and close friends very much are – and this strikes me as absolutely pathetic.

    “We’ve spoken to the networks and they are very keen to get more content. It’s quite clear the Melbourne clubs have emotional attachments and infrastructures they are not prepared to relinquish.”

    Perhaps the AFL should stop and think for a little bit about why the game’s fans are so passionate about it.

    It seems, though, that they just want to turn it into a Premier League-type money-spinning corporation with the heart and soul stripped out.

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