AFANA Footy BBS

Hmmmmm judging by the fact I'm the first one to post this year I'm assuming that you're all about as disgusted as I am about the footy situation on FSW.

A few thoughts.....

1) I'm in full agreement with the posts about the 'all soccer' network...My home is one of the few that receives FSW but for years, I didn't have it. I used to live in another part of the country where the cable system didn't have it so I sympathize with those who've essentially missed out on footy over the past six years...It kinda reminds me of those early 90's years when the PRIME networks purchased the rights to NHL hockey and about 30 people could watch the games *S*....Of course FOX moved in and purchased all those PRIME stations and turned them into regional nets...You know the rest but it's all eerily similar to that. I don't know how the AFL expects to fill and grow a fan base in the U.S. with such pitiful distribution.

2) Rob de Santos is correct on the ESPN situation. VFL games were great fun for those of us who remember them but back then, ESPN was still fighting for significance. I used to love to turn there for CFL football, VFL footy, international sports...etc....That all changed in 1991 with the introduction of Major League Baseball on the network. Shrewd management has used the last decade to secure broadcast rights for every major pro league in the U.S. The latest, of course, being the NBA this winter. Even if ESPN3 ever became a reality, they would be more interested in funneling more programming of those sports or prostituting someone like Labron James again for ratings than showing a variety of sports....

3)This would NEVER happen but what the heck...how about a wild suggestion here:
TNN. Their Saturday nights are made up of EXTREME style sports such as bullriding, fake wrestling, robot wars and some God Awful basketball hybrid called SLAMBALL. How about a late night time slot for footy and take a whole new marketing edge to it for the U.S. Promote the hard play, the soaring kicks, the unbelievable marks, etc. Have the players provide interview segments and bring in some respected person who knows the sport who'll teach as he broadcasts. As much as I enjoy the Aussie TV guys, we need to provide our own call of the match to reach an audience that would need to be educated as they went. Promote it as part of an extreme sports night and use the U.S. tie in to promote matches in the USFooty league...Take a net generation look at the sport and market it. And make the games cost effective for the network. No heists to mail tapes etc...

Oh well, that's my two cents...whaddya think???? *S*

> so I sympathize with those who've essentially
> missed out on footy over the past six years...It kinda reminds me of those
> early 90's years when the PRIME networks purchased the rights to NHL
> hockey and about 30 people could watch the games *S*....Of course FOX
> moved in and purchased all those PRIME stations and turned them into
> regional nets...You know the rest but it's all eerily similar to that. I
> don't know how the AFL expects to fill and grow a fan base in the U.S.
> with such pitiful distribution.

You're right. Part of the problem is that the AFL does not understand the US TV market and never has. I suppose FSI in London has a better understanding but it's hard to see how they can help our situation unless the AFL is looking over their shoulders.

> 2) Rob de Santos is correct on the ESPN situation. VFL games were great
> fun for those of us who remember them but back then, ESPN was still
> fighting for significance. I used to love to turn there for CFL football,
> VFL footy, international sports...etc....That all changed in 1991 with the
> introduction of Major League Baseball on the network. Shrewd management
> has used the last decade to secure broadcast rights for every major pro
> league in the U.S. The latest, of course, being the NBA this winter. Even
> if ESPN3 ever became a reality, they would be more interested in funneling
> more programming of those sports or prostituting someone like Labron James
> again for ratings than showing a variety of sports....

Don't get me started on LeBron James, etc. While we can wish for interest on the part of ESPN we are almost certainly wasting our time for the reasons you mention.

> 3)This would NEVER happen but what the heck...how about a wild suggestion
> here:
> TNN. Their Saturday nights are made up of EXTREME style sports such as
> bullriding, fake wrestling, robot wars and some God Awful basketball
> hybrid called SLAMBALL. How about a late night time slot for footy and
> take a whole new marketing edge to it for the U.S. Promote the hard play,
> the soaring kicks, the unbelievable marks, etc. Have the players provide
> interview segments and bring in some respected person who knows the sport
> who'll teach as he broadcasts. As much as I enjoy the Aussie TV guys, we
> need to provide our own call of the match to reach an audience that would
> need to be educated as they went. Promote it as part of an extreme sports
> night and use the U.S. tie in to promote matches in the USFooty
> league...Take a net generation look at the sport and market it. And make
> the games cost effective for the network. No heists to mail tapes etc...

AFANA is developing a short list of candidate networks as part of our strategy to help restore coverage. TNN will probably be on that list. As to the marketing thing, I think it's a sound strategy and AFANA has pushed similar ideas for years but getting the AFL or USFooty to sign on still seems a bit much to hope for. You have to expect imagination and a marketing plan from the AFL... neither of which seems to be on the horizon.

Thanks for the thoughtful input.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

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> AFANA is developing a short list of candidate networks as part of our
> strategy to help restore coverage. TNN will probably be on that list. As
> to the marketing thing, I think it's a sound strategy and AFANA has pushed
> similar ideas for years but getting the AFL or USFooty to sign on still
> seems a bit much to hope for.

This astounds me. My experience (I'll bet yours, too) is that there are many in the US who can become interested in most any sport, as long as they can see it. For example, last summer a friend of mine came up to me and said "Hey, I was watching this great sport on WNVT called 'Irish hurling.'" He had never heard of hurling before, but like myself the first time I saw it, he was fascinated. I introduced a number of friends to indoor lacrosse and they all loved it, despite knowing absolutely nothing about lacrosse. And how many of us in our 30s and 40s got hooked on Aussie Rules solely from the ESPN VFL broadcasts of the 80s?

I really have to believe there is a good-sized group of Americans who are like me (in this sense, anyway ). Most every time I mention rugby or Aussie rules or hurling or Gaelic football or indoor lacrosse or whatever, I find a number of people who are interested. Can it really be true that Americans really only want to watch the "big 4" sports (now big 5, including soccer)? I seriously doubt it, although have to I believe that's what's holding back networks from broadcasting. If they thought there was money there, they'd broadcast it alright!

As for TNN, I think it's a great possibility. Sure, they show some bogus sports, but they've also been one of the supporters (along with the local Fox networks) of Arena Football, and I am pleased to note that despite the demise of CNN/SI, local FoxNets are continuing their coverage of indoor lacrosse this year and both FoxNets and TNN had good coverage of lacrosse last summer. Unfortunately the local focus of the FoxNets probably precludes Aussie Rules, but if TNN is willing to go with real sports like a lacrosse or Arena game of the week, they might go for Aussie Rules too.

So, I truly believe we Americans would support almost any real sport, if we get a chance to see it. Just let us know when and to whom to start writing letters.

- gary

Gary,

> This astounds me. My experience (I'll bet yours, too) is that there are
> many in the US who can become interested in most any sport, as long as
> they can see it. ... And how many of us in our 30s and 40s got hooked
> on Aussie Rules solely from the ESPN VFL broadcasts of the 80s?

I continue to be amazed at how many people remember those broadcasts. I was introduced to the sport thru the early ESPN telecasts. Given how few Americans had cable in those days it had a huge impact. It just reinforces how important it would be if we could again get widespread coverage.

> Can it really be true that
> Americans really only want to watch the "big 4" sports (now big
> 5, including soccer)? I seriously doubt it, although have to I believe
> that's what's holding back networks from broadcasting. If they thought
> there was money there, they'd broadcast it alright!

No, it's not true that fans only want the "big 4" and that is shown by the success of "invented" sports such as the X-Games. The challenge for fans is to get the networks to take another look at footy.

> As for TNN, I think it's a great possibility. ...
> last summer. Unfortunately the local focus of the FoxNets probably
> precludes Aussie Rules, but if TNN is willing to go with real sports like
> a lacrosse or Arena game of the week, they might go for Aussie Rules too.

While I think the FOX Sports Nets aren't as promising an opportunity as I might wish we are going to put some pressure on them in hopes we can get them to reconsider now that their sister network (FOX Sports World) has dropped the sport. TNN is a real possibility if we can get their attention.

> Just let us know when and to whom to start
> writing letters.

We sent out a media newsletter last night with the latest info and have a web page up with contact info. Go for it.

http://www.afana.com/2003contacts.shtml

Regards,

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

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Rob,
I've been sending out emails to the networks that I watch - FSW and TNN so far - because I can say specific good things about programs I watch on their networks. I have to think that it helps if you can say "hey, I watch you already" before asking that they cover something else. In addition to these two, I also watch regional Fox Sports Nets quite often, but not one in particular. I watch Arena Football on Southern CA and Chicago, AHL hockey on Empire (NY), lacrosse on MSG, etc. Basically wherever the sports are on, I watch.

So my question: are FoxNets more or less independently run? If they are locally run, then we need to send a request to show Aussie Rules to particular local FoxNet stations, right? Do you have any idea where in the US has particularly high concentration of Aussie ex-pats? It seems that we might do best concentrating our requests on a particular FoxNet or two in areas with lots of Aussies.

-+-- gary

> Rob,
> I've been sending out emails to the networks that I watch - FSW and TNN
> so far - because I can say specific good things about programs I watch on
> their networks. I have to think that it helps if you can say "hey, I
> watch you already" before asking that they cover something else.

That's a good point. If you can express some familiarity with their current programming it helps.

> So my question: are FoxNets more or less independently run?

Only to a limited degree. Each carries programming specific to their market (e.g. FSN Pittsburgh carries Pittsburgh Penguins hockey), but almost everything else is nationally distributed.

> If they are
> locally run, then we need to send a request to show Aussie Rules to
> particular local FoxNet stations, right?

We need to create demand from the regional stations for the national office to offer footy to them. Since most cable companies only offer their local FOX Sports Net affiliate and maybe one or more of the 3 national combined feeds (FOX Sports Net East, Central, West), it is important to write to your local affiliate as well as the national office.

> Do you have any idea where in the
> US has particularly high concentration of Aussie ex-pats? It seems that we
> might do best concentrating our requests on a particular FoxNet or two in
> areas with lots of Aussies.

The highest concentrations appear to be in California, New York City, Toronto, and Washington, DC but given the above, we need to create interest everywhere. Also, footy fans are everywhere. AFANA has members all over the US and Canada and two thirds are Americans and Canadians. Ex-pats now represent just a third of our members.

Keep in mind that just 10 or 20 e-mails, faxes, and phone calls to each affiliate will really make a huge difference. Factor every contact by 1,000 and that gives you some idea of impact we can have.

Thanks for your support.

-Rob de Santos

AFANA Chairman

We will get our footy in 2003

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