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Virtual crowds in Nine’s AFL bid

Nine is so keen for Monday night AFL in the next broadcasting rights, it is willing to put virtual crowds into shots of arenas.

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The Nine Network  is so keen for Monday night AFL in the next broadcasting rights, it is willing to put virtual crowds into shots of arenas to adjust for any low numbers.

“I think Monday night is the new franchise for the AFL, and we want it,” GTV9 Managing Director Jeffrey Browne told The Age. ”It’s a traditional timeslot in sports all around the world.

”Obviously, being a Monday night, you’d attract less people to the match. But there are some great technological innovations we can put around it to make it a fantastic game for television, and we’d show it live.

”People are being diabolically conservative about this. The fact is people are home on Monday nights and they are out on Friday nights.”

The AFL said the virtual audience would solve the TV problem but not the prospect of relatively empty Monday night stadiums.

Source: The Age

  • Tagged with AFL

44 Responses

  2. This is a fantastic idea by Nine. Given that hopefully, rugby league is going to Seven or Ten, Nine will need to find something to fill the programming void. Perhaps they could fly the current rugby league conmentary team around to sit around in the empty stadiums watching the aerial ping pong?

  3. Please, no. This is another reason why Nine must not get the AFL rights. It was bad enough when Seven tried virtual advertising for a game at Victoria Park, but virtual crowds.
    Just allowing people into the bottom deck at Docklands for a reasonable price would solve most of the poor crowd on TV anyway. So often a decent crowd at tha grounds looks like nobody is there simply because of the pricing structure at that venue. The top deck will be reasonably full, out of view of the cameras for the bulk of the game, but nobody in the bottom.

  5. it will never be live in perth. ever. on any free tv channel.
    if it is, i will pay everyone $1000 personally

    afl must be on pay tv for perth viewers to get it live

  6. As much as i like AFL Football and look forward to Channel 9 broadcasting the game again,if they win the rights back.Monday night football i just don’t like.Friday Saturday Sunday is fine.What about some Twilight games on Saturday afternoon,and the usual Sunday.It maybe a great ratings grab but it’s just so unfair to the players.I think that is more important

  9. Channel 9 has moved into the high tech world as far as manipulating crowds for television are concerned. Back in 1996 on Anzac Day, I attended the Rabbitohs v Roosters Rugby League match played at the Sydney Football Stadium. A very low crowd was expected and the gate attendants at the match were instructed to direct all supporters with general admission seating to the eastern side of the stadium as that is the side that the televsion cameras face when doing side on shots. It was only after people complained about being forced to sit looking directly into the sun do they allow people onto the western grandstand

  13. Why not put them in a virtual stadium?

    Replace the ball with a cg ball on fire, or CGI pig?

    Even better put them all in motion tracking suits and have the game Na’vi playing a match in a jungle on Pandora?

    why stop with just fake crowds?

  14. The idea of virtual crowds is crap, however the idea of a Monday night game is reasonable. If Nine can hook up both NRL and AFL Monday Night Football they could run them at the same time, with NSW and QLD getting the NRL and Vic, WA and SA getting the AFL. If Nine really wanted to take a risk they could make an entire night of Monday Night Football:

    7:00-7:15 – Pre-Game
    7:15-9:15 – NRL Game (NSW/Qld), AFL Game (Vic, SA, WA)
    9:15-9:30 – Post-Game
    9:30-9:45 – Pre-Game
    9:45-11:45 – AFL Game (NSW/Qld), NRL Game (Vic, SA, WA)
    11:45-12:00 – Post-Game

  16. @Doris W: that may be true in non NRL states.. Then again, after seeing the ratings for the Origin, it seems like most of Australia enjoys a bit of rugby league football.

  17. I was just thinking wouldn’t they also have to add in fake cheering etc etc?

    Would be rather strange to see a sold out MCG that makes hardly a noise.

    Ridiculous idea.

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