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AFL snubbed for "chicken broth"

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AFL Chief Andrew Demetriou has criticised a decision by Channel Seven not to broadcast a sellout match between Hawthorn and Geelong live at 7:30pm tonight. Instead it will air its regular lifestyle show, Better Homes and Gardens.

The AFL claims it asked Seven this week about bringing the game forward to 7:30pm but Seven resisted, preferring to keep the match at its usual time.

“We thought it would be a good idea given that it’s a sellout,” said Mr Demetriou on 3AW. “We haven’t been successful.”

He said in the AFL’s original negotiations with Nine and Foxtel that Friday night football was contracted to air live to air. Seven and TEN then matched that offer, but Seven chose to vary live Fridays.

“It was in our agreement in the last broadcast rights that’s what we wanted. I think Friday night’s become a marquee night for football.” He said while he was comfortable with short delays in AFL broadcasts, “I don’t think long delays and replays work anymore.”

But Seven pulls a strong audience with Better Homes and Gardens, last week attracting 1.31m viewers. It maintains it is better to have football start at the same time every week. Despite this, other programmes are bumped or removed with little notice when they are under performing.

“I understand Seven’s position, they sell advertising well in advance,” he said. “They also like the certainty of people understanding it’s on at 8.30 every Friday night.”

Demetriou also pointed to a couple of “big stories” tonight on Better Homes and Gardens. “How to make warm chicken broth on a cold weekend … something about citrus trees,” he said.

A Seven spokesperson told TV Tonight, “Channel Seven has a commitment to all its viewers and it continues to deliver a very successful line up of programming on Friday night with generally more than 1.3 million people watching nationally each week.

“Even though tonight’s game is a sell-out at the MCG, we have existing commitments to other viewers and advertisers that mean AFL is scheduled at 8.30pm.”

14 Responses

  1. Seven also often start Sunday games at 3pm in Brisbane because of the V8s & we get a lousy highlights package of the first qtr/half. Nine always showed the game at 1pm without fail and in Melbourne there were two games.
    Peruse the Bigfooty boards to see how much the average footy fan hates Seven's coverage. 2012 can't come soon enough!

  2. The only way you can watch the Friday night game sin Sydney is by staying up late night. They never start before 11.30. I never understood that logic. What’s the problem competing with NRL. Are Princes Diaries 2 doing a better job? If AFL wants to expand in Sydney they have to think about this stupid TV rights arrangements. At the moment, they are a joke.

  4. Re. comments by Gold Coast Guy:
    One of the reasons Seven won the current AFL TV rights was the ability of its affiliate Prime to telecast Friday night games in primetime in regional areas such as southern NSW, the ACT, and the Gold Coast. Footy fans in these areas will again lose out should Nine win the rights in 2012, since its affiliates NBN and WIN will simply dump the Friday night game to 11.30pm, preferring to show NRL first. (BTW, NRL is more popular than AFL in regional NSW and QLD, as shown by the audience figures for State of Origin and the Grand Finals over the years)

  5. I can’t believe that 7 actually think they’re getting value for money on the AFL rights. Here (in SA) they do not screen either game of the weekend live (with the exception when an SA team is playing away).

    It’s a joke. I’d much rather listen to the live broadcast, than watch a telecast that is the better part of 2 hours behind.

    And, for all the 9 supporters in the commments – they were no better!

    Note to Pay TV providers – I’m not signing up for $500 a year, when I don’t want 7/8ths of what you’re offering. Connect me for free, and then charge me pay per view across your offering. It’s like water, sewage, electricity (and, come the day) broadband access. Every home is built with it, and then you pay for how much you use (sort of). *That’s* the 21st century.

  6. KnoxOverstreet, do you work for Channel 9, or are you just a sad fanboy? Every comment you post is pro-9.

    9 did exactly the same thing when they had the rights; Burke’s Backyard, Scott Cam, Motorway Patrol were always on before the match. All the FTA stations are rubbish in this regard.

    AFL MUST be on the main channel, as it’s on the anti-siphoning list. It cannot be held over to the HD channel. Blame the government.

    I wish FOXTEL had the primary rights to every game LIVE.

  7. Why should channel 7, if they were able to or wanted to, show AFL live into Melbourne on the HD channel? Not all supporters have a HD Box or IQ2, sport like AFL, Rugby, Soccer etc should be left on the SD channels.

    As for Ch.7 arrogance by not showing the Hawthorn game live into Melbourne tonight, what a JOKE!! Hopefully Nine gets the rights back in 2012.

  8. I can’t wait for Nine to get the rights back Seven have been crap from the word go. Ch31 could have done a more professional job!!

  9. The Gold Coast already gets the Friday night game live on Prime.

    It's also available on Foxtel (Main Event) in Brisbane/Gold Coast for those on the Sport package.

    Evan :->

  10. How arrogant do they want to get.

    If it isn’t a sell out, the stations can’t air it live, but if it is AFL want them to alter their programming for them.

    Good on ya 7, i don’t watch BHAG much, but i despise televised sport.

  11. I believe this is one nail in the coffin in terms of Channel Seven having the rights to AFL after 2011. I believe Seven should have at least shown the game live on the HD channel and leaving BH&G where it belongs on the SD channel.

    Fair enough that advertisers have already paid good money to have their goods and/or services advertised during BH&G. All deals would be put up in the air if footy was to be moved suddenly.

    But then again, Seven gave in last year when the Geelong vs. Collingwood Prelim Final was a sell out and they showed it live.

  12. I have mixed feeling on this issue. As a Hawthorn fan I would love to see tonight’s game live. But as a supporter of AFL and Seven in general I hate to see Nine and Foxtel getting the TV rights back in 2012. It will simply mean that Nine will show the Friday game at 11.30pm in NSW, ACT and Queensland, after the National Rugby League doubleheader, unless the network is allowed to air the AFL on its new standard definition channel.
    The AFL is planning to set up two new teams in the Gold Coast and western Sydney by 2012 and will hate to see the Friday night game not be shown in these areas in primetime.

  13. fair play..thers nothing better than a nice bowl of hot chicken broth on a cold winters night..lol..and yeah, i think its a foregone conclusion that with no first and last bid card to play on sevens part that Nine/Foxtel will get the AFL rights next time around, it was the AFL’s preferred option for this rouond

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