Overnight AFANA received and posted the featured matches for the Round 22 telecasts. The highlights program will feature Essendon v Collingwood. There is no arguing this is a traditional rivalry or that it has major implications for the order of the clubs in the final 8. On those counts, we can't be surprised that it was chosen as the featured match. (West Coast v Fremantle will be featured in the Match of the Week.)
What is arguable is just how many times this season do fans of the other 14 clubs have to watch Collingwood and Essendon?
Thru Round 22 it will have been 12 appearances for the Woods and 11 for the Bombers between the two programs. So, you've watched at least one of them just about every week this season. And the finals are yet to come. Last season the two appeared 27 times combined including finals. Enough is enough.
AFANA has raised the issue of imbalanced coverage with the AFL and AFL Films (previously known as Vuecast) over and over again since we were first formed back in 1996. Yes, the "over-exposed" clubs have shifted a bit over time but fundamentally it is still the same problem.
AFL Films has some very good reasons why some imbalance occurs. And I don't think for one minute there is any "conspiracy" to favor some clubs over another. But as I've said elsewhere, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck". In other words, bias is occurring de-facto whether or not it is intended.
When this season concludes, AFANA will again forward to the AFL and AFL Films our critique of the past season. It will again make the point that this problem has to be rectified. The question is whether it will fall on deaf ears or whether real change will take place. Time will tell.
-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman and Handyman
Related Blog Entries:
Good stuff Rob. There can never ever be enough footy talk.
Posted by: Tony.T at August 27, 2003 12:35 AMThanks, Tony. We enjoy your blog, too. Keep up the good work and thanks for the plug!
-Rob
Posted by: Rob de Santos at August 27, 2003 12:54 AMGiven that the clubs featured change over time, this is probably a good thing.
Essendon and Collingwood do seem to be overexposed; you probably don't appreciate just how much the Dockers have improved, because you simply don't see them.
How often do you get to see Port Adelaide, or Brisbane?
I think this is an issue for you guys and well done for you for not shirking it.
Other sports have this problem too. I'm a fan of English Premier League soccer. That league has 20 teams, but you wouldn't know it going by the Fox Sports coverage.
Anyway that is a rant for another day....
Posted by: Scott Wickstein at August 30, 2003 12:50 AMYea, this is a big issue for us. We're not going to let the AFL off the hook either.
We've seen Port and Brisbane a fair bit this season. A lot more than last season for sure but still no where near the number of times we've seen 'Wood and 'Dun.
On the other hand, you wouldn't even know the Dockers are in the same league. So I only know how much better they are from reports elsewhere on the web. AFANA has reporters in Melbourne now but not in the other major cities so even our staff can't help us with that.
You mean that the Premier League consists of more than Man Utd?? I didn't know that... :-)
Posted by: Rob de Santos at August 30, 2003 09:09 AM