0/5

Report: AFL Footy Show facing (another) revamp

Overshadowed by Seven's Front Bar, Nine is reportedly headed back to the drawing board once again.

Under siege from Seven’s Front Bar, Nine’s AFL Footy Show is tipped to undergo (another) major makeover during the off-season.

The Herald Sun reports Rebecca Maddern will not feature again on the show this year (not even in the Grand Final edition?). Maddern gave birth to her first child four months ago, and was recently announced for Nine’s tennis coverage as well as a return to Australian Ninja Warrior.

Despite the return of Eddie McGuire to the show last year, the long-running show has been regularly beaten by Seven’s ‘grass-roots’ Front Bar, notably in its key audience of Melbourne. Questions are already being asked about whether Sam Newman’s role on the show should continue, or whether an exit would cop a backlash from its core audience.

Nine is yet to confirm the show for 2019.

Meanwhile the NRL Footy Show has been struggling in a new and stripped back format, in a later timeslot on Nine.

Such figures come at a time when Free to Air advocates that Sport is one of its key pillars.

19 Responses

          1. Jonno raises a valid point though, he seems to be everything to Nine. Not just his Mr. Melbourne and millionaire status, but great buddies with Gyngell, no doubt fellow Melburnian chairman Costello and probably just about every other current or former exec and high profile personality there. Main guy at London 2012, face of 5-6pm weekdays for yonks now and what else?….

  1. Just get hold of some old recordings of TEN’s Before The Game, watch that and make that how the show is, just be about AFL/NRL and get rid of all the other junk, like mailbag and street talk. Even follow the style of The Marngrook Footy Show, which both that and Before The Game have/had their roots in the old Seven style shows that had Lou Richards and Jack Dyer hosting.

      1. Nah not really, Before The Game and especially The Marngrook Footy Show are a bit different to what The Front Bar do. Before The Game had females who knew a lot about AFL on the panel, like Neroli Meadows, Sam Lane and Angela Pippos, as does The Marngrook Footy Show and they were/are a lot less blokey than the Front Bar. Yes two of Before The Game are on The Front Bar, however it was a lot different and a lot more like something I don’t mind my children watching (granted both earlier shows at 6:30 and 7:30pm).

        The Front Bar is great though I enjoy it, however a more family friendly show centred around AFL or NRL on a commercial network wouldn’t go astray to compliment what is already on air.

  2. I was a regular viewer of both Footy Shows for many years but haven’t watched either of them this year. They have lost their appeal for me, revamp or not, I won’t be back.

  3. I watched the footy show when it first started 20 odd years ago. Back then it was fresh, like the Front Bar is now, it was funny, like the Front Bar is now and it didn’t take itself too seriously, like the Front Bar doesn’t now. Back then it had a permanent comedian, Trevor Marmalade, who was the main reason I watched. The Front Bar has two permanent comedians.

    If the Footy Show wants to survive, my advice would be show Sam and Eddie the door, try and get Rebecca back to host on her own as she was great and put a panel of comedians on the show, with the odd player to interview… sorry I think i’m describing the Front Bar!

  4. I haven’t watched the (Thursday) NRL Footy Show in years. Unless things have changed, it very much fits in the category of entertain with a minimum amount of sports content. I still watch the Sunday NRL Footy Show, if I’m at home when its on. It’s one of the only shows on FTA that actually discusses the sport.

Leave a Reply