AFANA Footy BBS

Get ready for another battle to get Aussie Rules on US television in 2005.

FOX Sports International has registered the trademark "FOX Soccer Channel" for the purpose of converting FOX Sports World to an all-soccer channel, which should happen in February 2005 if there are no further delays.

FOX Sports International will have to sublicense Aussie Rules to another outlet if Aussie Rules is to air in the US in 2005.

Bottom line: Aussie Rules will probably NOT be on FOX Sports World ever again.

soccerTV.com

> Get ready for another battle to get Aussie Rules on US television in 2005.
...
> Bottom line: Aussie Rules will probably NOT be on FOX Sports World ever again.

Thanks for the post. Most of the readers here are undoubtedly aware of the plans of FOX Sports World since it has been covered extensively in our TV and Media Newsletter.

Footy fans can rest assurred that we will be monitoriing the situation as it develops. AFANA is in communication with the AFL and hopes to meet with the AFL again soon and this will be a major topic of discussion.

Our best guess is that FOX Sports World will not renew it's rights to the sport should they make the switch and their "parent" FOX Sports International will license the sport to someone else.

Watch our newsletter for regular updates as the next season approaches.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

Ughh not this again! Why is it that the networks are so reluctant to air Aussie Rules, yet I often come across such obscure sports such as Darts, and Poker (yes Poker) on the sports networks around here. These network guys can't honestly tell me they have a higher viewership for a Poker game than an Aussie Rules match.

Is there any way to get viewer numbers for AFL here in the States? Would be interested to see how many people are watching each week and how many stayed up to see the GF.
Also would be interesting to compare those numbers with other sports, such as darts, rugby, pool, 10 pin bowling etc. And while we are at it, can we get some cricket!!!

Keep up the good work AFANA.

Bill

The 10th RE-RUN of a poker tournament gets at least 3 times the audience compared to an Aussie Rules match in the US.

That is the reality of sports television in the US.

Even the national hockey league has been relegated to obscurity in the US.

The sports networks in the US are tripping over each other in 2004 to jam as many hours of poker re-runs as possible before the fad levels out.

Team sports that aren't already established in the US don't sell in the US. The only "new" team sports league in the US that has a toehold on broadcast network TV in the past 10 years is Arena Football (Gridiron).

Individual competitions sell in the US. Extreme Action Sports, Dog shows and big air dog tricks, fishing tournaments, eating contests, spelling bees, talent shows such as "Dream Job", poker, etc.

> Ughh not this again! Why is it that the networks are so reluctant to air Aussie
> Rules, yet I often come across such obscure sports such as Darts, and Poker (yes
> Poker) on the sports networks around here. These network guys can't honestly tell me
> they have a higher viewership for a Poker game than an Aussie Rules match.

soccerTV.com

> Ughh not this again!

Get used to it. Minor sports are fighting for survival all across the board. In the nine plus years now I have been at this, we've had to fight for coverage at least six of those nine. The good news though for Canada is that even if FOX Sports World US drop footy and thus deprives FOX Sports World Canada of an easy source, I believe that FSWC would try very hard to reach a deal with any new US carrier in order to keep the sport. FSWC likes it and wants it. The problem is south of the border.

> I often come across such obscure sports such as Darts, and Poker
> (yes Poker) on the sports networks around here. These network guys
> can't honestly tell me they have a higher viewership for a Poker game
> than an Aussie Rules match.

At least in the case of Poker, they can and they do get higher ratings. Poker is the hottest commodity right now among the 18-25 year old demographic. But Poker is not our problem, it's the relative cost for minor sports of any type and the ratings they deliver. Poker as a fad will fade in due course, just as exercise programs with scantily clad instructors did. Back in 1996, ESPN was airing 6 hours a day of such programming. Now, it gets an hour at most in a lousy time slot.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> ... a poker tournament gets at least 3 times the audience compared to
> an Aussie Rules match in the US.
...
> The sports networks in the US are tripping over each other in 2004 to jam as many
> hours of poker re-runs as possible before the fad levels out.
...
> Team sports that aren't already established in the US don't sell in the US.
> Individual competitions sell in the US.

I agree with all of this though some of it is due to the way each is promoted and the time slots they get. Sort of a catch-22. Poker is a fad and will fade in due course.

These things tend to go in long cycles and the demographics shift. Australian football has fought the issue of not only being a team sport but having adverse demographics for the past few years. That's changing as the audience for the sport becomes more and more dependent on North Americans and less and less on ex-pats. It's also becoming younger.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> Is there any way to get viewer numbers for AFL here in the States? Would be
> interested to see how many people are watching each week and how many stayed up to
> see the GF.

Don't count on FOX Sports World telling us but we can ask. Nielsen would tell us but it will cost us many $$$.

> Also would be interesting to compare those numbers with other sports, such as darts,
> rugby, pool, 10 pin bowling etc. And while we are at it, can we get some cricket!!!

Appreciate though that those comparisons are at best questionable for several reasons: any statistician not employed by Nielsen would probably tell you that the differences between the numbers are within the margin of error and more closely correlated with the network and time slot than with the programming at those low levels.

As for cricket, don't look here. We have our hands full with Aussie rules and have no resources to take on cricket or as people often ask us to do, rugby.

Thanks for the support

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> As for cricket, don't look here. We have our hands full with Aussie rules and have
> no resources to take on cricket or as people often ask us to do, rugby.

What about more of the exercise programs with scantily clad instructors then?

> What about more of the exercise programs with scantily clad instructors then?

I'm all in favor of it, especially if they are Aussies.

And I appoint you campaign chairman to lead the effort.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

. And while we are at it, can we get some cricket!!!

> Keep up the good work AFANA.

> Bill

At least with Cricket there are TONS of matches on Pay-Per-View if you really want to watch them. They are expensive though. It varies from $24-39/match around here. But at least the option exists. It would be nice to at least have the option of AFL matches live on Pay-Per-View. They have NFL Sunday Ticket, imagine an AFL ticket

The AFL ticket is a brilliant idea, but I suppose it will be cost prohibitive. I would like to see Geelong each week, but the original (according to the Age) idea of a live match of the round each Friday night (Saturday afternoon in Oz) on FSW would be OK.
Maybe I will have to dump Cox digital cable (it would be cheaper).
But, Rob always seems to have an answer each year. I ask the membership of AFANA and others that read these posts to be confident. Rob always finds a solution. Good luck, Mr. DeSantos.

Geelong to win it all in 2005!

Brian Bay
Salina, Kansas USA

> But at least the option exists. It would be nice to at least have the option of AFL
> matches live on Pay-Per-View. They have NFL Sunday Ticket, imagine an AFL ticket

Some of us already have. About 5 to 6 years ago there were several aborted attempts at weekly live AFL coverage by subscription. Back then there just weren't enough people willing to pay to make it go.

But, if you recall, AFANA asked several questions about this in last year's fan survey. The responses indicated that 85% wanted live coverage and 64% would pay for it. The average amount per month they would be willing to pay was US$15. That's about $90 per season and probably less than half of what it would really cost to do it in today's TV market.

So, the prospects are much better than they were just a few years ago. It would take at least 1,000 subscribers (homes) at US$200 per season to make it go given satellite and production costs, roughly speaking. Now, how much companies like DirecTV would want to distribute it or how much the AFL & Aussie TV networks would want for the rights, is less clear.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> The AFL ticket is a brilliant idea, but I suppose it will be cost prohibitive.

See my other answer regarding the cost.

> But, Rob always seems to have an answer each year. I ask the membership of AFANA and
> others that read these posts to be confident. Rob always finds a solution. Good
> luck, Mr. DeSantos.

Thanks, Brian. I and everyone in AFANA appreciates the support. Our sources tell us that FOX Soccer Channel is coming in February 2005 and that does not bode well for footy remaining on FOX. However, prospects are not necessarily grim and I will know a lot more in six or seven more weeks. We'll put out a TV and Media newsletter in the next week or two with a status report and keep everyone posted as things move along.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> Our sources
> tell us that FOX Soccer Channel is coming in February 2005 and that does not bode
> well for footy remaining on FOX. However, prospects are not necessarily grim and I
> will know a lot more in six or seven more weeks. We'll put out a TV and Media
> newsletter in the next week or two with a status report and keep everyone posted as
> things move along.

> -Rob de Santos
> AFANA Chairman

I was chatting with Jeremy St.Louis the other day (one of the co-hosts on that Fox Sports World Report show), and he was telling me that as far as AFL coverage goes he "thinks" that since CanWest Global might be able to simply pickup their Australian station, Network TEN's weekly broadcast regardless of the deal with Fox Sports International for Canadian distribution. From what I make of his comments, Network TEN sells broadcast rights to FSI and then Canwest buys them back for the weekly Aussie Rules coverage, which he finds rather absurd, as do I. Apparantly he's been inquiring anyhow into trying to get FSWC to pickup sports content from it's holdings in Australia/New Zealand such as Network TEN and TV3. I don't know exactly though how the deal with FSI works, hopefully CanWest Global can bypass it since FSI doesn't seem to show any commitment to the sport.

> I was chatting with Jeremy St.Louis the other day he
...
> "thinks" that since CanWest Global might be able to simply pickup their
> Australian station, Network TEN's weekly broadcast regardless of the deal with Fox
> Sports International for Canadian distribution.

It's entirely possible but there are a few wrinkles as I will explain below.

> From what I make of his comments,
> Network TEN sells broadcast rights to FSI and then Canwest buys them back for the
> weekly Aussie Rules coverage, which he finds rather absurd, as do I.

Not exactly. The AFL, as do most international sports bodies now, retains the "rights" themselves and "licenses" others. (Just listen to those disclaimers aired during every major sports broadcast.) TEN is one of the 3 source networks in Australia. They get to produce and air several matches per round. However, the video they produce is the "property" of the AFL. Sound messy? It is. The AFL has "licensed" AFL Films to produce the highlight and match of the week programs. The AFL then "licenses" FOX Sports International to "distribute" AFL matches worldwide outside Australia. (That was part of the domestic Australian TV contract for 2002-2006 with TEN, Nine, and FOXTEL.) So, FSI then, as distributor, "licenses" networks around the world (or doesn't as the case may be) to air the Match of the Week and Highlights in their respective countries, including Canada. And just for wrinkles, ABC Asia Pacific TV has rights to air live and tape delayed full matches in their satellite footprint, perhaps separately from FSI.

> hopefully CanWest Global can bypass it since FSI
> doesn't seem to show any commitment to the sport.

Oh, there are lots of days when I wish we could simply bypass FSI everywhere, not just in Canada.

Great contribution and thanks for the info, Phil.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> Get ready for another battle to get Aussie Rules on US television in 2005.

> FOX Sports International has registered the trademark "FOX Soccer Channel"
> for the purpose of converting FOX Sports World to an all-soccer channel, which
> should happen in February 2005 if there are no further delays.

> FOX Sports International will have to sublicense Aussie Rules to another outlet if
> Aussie Rules is to air in the US in 2005.

> Bottom line: Aussie Rules will probably NOT be on FOX Sports World ever again.

I noticed the posts about Canwest picking up Network Ten's brodcasts directly. I have an idea that can circumvent Canwest altogether. According to the CRTC's website (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2004/pb2004-52.htm) Network Ten is allowed to be carried on Satellite and Cable in Canada. So if there are enough people concentrated in one area who want Aussie Football, call your cable company and request they carry Network Ten. If there's enough groundswell of support, maybe the companies will realize that Canadians want Aussie TV. I think this is a longshot, but who knows? It can't hurt to try right?

> I noticed the posts about Canwest picking up Network Ten's brodcasts directly. I
> have an idea that can circumvent Canwest altogether. According to the CRTC's website
> (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2004/pb2004-52.htm) Network Ten is
> allowed to be carried on Satellite and Cable in Canada.

That's correct and AFANA reported on this in several issues of our TV and Media newsletter in the past year. However, CanWest controls the rights to Network Ten in Canada, which is not surprising since they have related ownership. So, it won't circumvent CanWest, but might motivate them. On the other hand, given the controversy over allowing networks such as RAI from Italy in, I can't see any decision by CanWest until the CRTC and the Canadian courts rule definitively on those issues.

It's also important to reiterate what I said elsewhere in this thread: AFANA believes that FOX Sports World Canada wants to keep Aussie rules regardless of what happens in the US. A deal by FSWC with another US network would therefore be a possibility.

> So if there are enough
> people concentrated in one area who want Aussie Football, call your cable company
> and request they carry Network Ten. If there's enough groundswell of support, maybe
> the companies will realize that Canadians want Aussie TV. I think this is a
> longshot, but who knows? It can't hurt to try right?

It probably can't hurt but to be effective you need significant numbers of people doing it all across Canada. Two or three calling their local cable company in Saskatchewan aren't likely to have much immediate impact. Still, companies track these sorts of requests and over time it will help.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

The following two articles are pertinent to this discussion:

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Oct/1082353.htm

and the one in the link below:

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

Ten ownership may change

hmm... I cant picture FSW abandoning rugby they broadcast 3 or 4 competitions of rugby.

Now knowing about this Fox Soccer channel.. is it posible there could be a "Fox Sports World 2" or something like that? for their rugby mentioned above, cricket, auto racing, handball, and most importantly aussie rules?

> hmm... I cant picture FSW abandoning rugby they broadcast 3 or 4 competitions of
> rugby.

What AFANA has postulated in our newsletters is that rugby might move to another existing FOX owned sports network.

> Now knowing about this Fox Soccer channel.. is it posible there could be a "Fox
> Sports World 2" or something like that? for their rugby mentioned above,
> cricket, auto racing, handball, and most importantly aussie rules?

We think some sports will be dropped outright but others will move as I noted above. There is absolutely no indication of the creation of a FSWLD2 or anything similar. Given the lead time needed to negotiate carriage agreements with cable and satellite providers and the poor market penetration of the existing FSWLD channel, creating a second one would be a bad marketing move.

Footy will find a new home if that proves necessary, it just might be a bumpy ride for a while.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

Bottom line - how can one watch AFL while in New York in 2005? What possibilities and likelihood exist?

cheers

> Bottom line - how can one watch AFL while in New York in 2005? What possibilities
> and likelihood exist?

Bottom line - We don't know yet. Sorry, that probably wasn't the answer you were looking for.

There hasn't been any news reported here because well, there isn't any so far. The AFL is still in talks with FOX Sports Int'l and their FOX Sports World network so far as AFANA knows. The possibility exists that coverage will continue much as we had it last season. There is also a possibility that it will end up on a different network.

If you aren't familiar with the viewing options from last season (perhaps you weren't here last year or are a new fan) then get tvupdatev9n06@afana.com (Send a blank e-mail to that address and you will get our 2004 viewing guide by return e-mail.)

Past history tells us that only once or twice since 1995 have we known the coverage for sure as of mid-January. More likely we will know something in February or as has happened way too often... a few days after the AFL season starts. Everyone can rest assurred that AFANA will have a full report in our newsletters and schedules here at the web site as soon as we have something. If action by fans is needed, we'll let everyone know that, too.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> I'm all in favor of it, especially if they are Aussies.

> And I appoint you campaign chairman to lead the effort.

> -Rob de Santos
> AFANA Chairman
>

Good news for Rob. If you have Comcast digital cable with On-Demand, some of the exercise programs with scantily clad instructors are back. Look in the Sports category, then Fitness.

Sorry about the absence of Aussie instructresses Rob, but at least TamiLee Webb is there.

> If you have Comcast digital cable with On-Demand, some of
> the exercise programs with scantily clad instructors are back. Look in the Sports
> category, then Fitness.

> Sorry about the absence of Aussie instructresses Rob, but at least TamiLee Webb is
> there.

I have DirecTV but imagine that... exercise programs as Video On Demand. Even the scantily clad instructors are pay per view. There is hope in the world.

-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman

AFANA Blog

> I have DirecTV but imagine that... exercise programs as Video On Demand. Even
> the scantily clad instructors are pay per view. There is hope in the world.

> -Rob de Santos
> AFANA Chairman

It's even better than that. Some On Demand programs are free, including the scantily clad instructors.