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Response to: "I Got Cable and the AFL Hates Us!" 
Posted By: Rob de Santos
Date: Thursday, 23 March 2006, at 11:07 a.m. US Eastern Time
Hi all,
AFANA, as I expected (sadly), is getting lots of messages with complaints that the AFL (and /or AFANA) is unfair to cable subscribers (or DISH Network subscribers, etc.) because they are going to be on satellite only. We are also getting compaints that the coverage reflects some terrible planning on the part of the AFL and it won't help the game grow here, etc.
Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but that's not what has happened here. In my opinion, the AFL has listened very closely to what AFANA has told them over the past two years and has done the best that can be done given the current situation.
AFANA continues to advise the AFL on what to do with coverage here and Setanta wouldn't even be on the radar screen unless we had spoken up. And AFANA will again take the brunt of this change financially, because unhappy readers don't join or renew. The AFL won't suffer as subscriptions to the online package will increase.
No one made a conscious decision to shut out cable subscribers. Rather, the AFL was unable to get any channel carried widely to pick up the coverage so when Setanta expressed interest as did MHz they did what they could to get the best coverage possible. No one at AFANA or the AFL is happy that it is only on satellite but truthfully, as AFANA has been saying for some years now, it is likely that the future of footy coverage in North America is pay per view. This is probably the first step in that direction. Conventional sports channels no longer want to carry stuff like Aussie rules unless you bring big dollar sponsors with you, which the AFL doesn't have in North America. We aren't the flavor of the month (e.g. poker) so programming directors aren't going to risk their careers on footy.
To potentially get live coverage, something we have worked toward for 11 years, is a big plus in what is otherwise a
less than ideal outcome.Believe me, I would rather footy be live and be on ESPN every Friday night but it's not happening in my lifetime. If you would read the stuff we got back in 1998 when Fox Sports World took over (and was in a whopping 2% of US homes) or in 1996 when it was on ESPN2 (and in 1% of US homes) you'd understand that I do appreciate it's not ideal as the newsletter stated.
A reality check is in order here. If I or the other volunteers at AFANA thought the AFL had done a bad job here, we'd say so. Eleven years of our honest reporting should tell you that much. Recently, we fought for a decade to get an AFL exhibition here but when it was mishandled we said so. Other web sites refused to criticize the AFL and the organizers but we did. We're on your side.
-Rob de Santos
AFANA Chairman
AFANA Newsletters - Subscribe Here
 Response to: "I Got Cable and the AFL Hates Us!" | Rob de Santos | Thursday, 23 March 2006, at 11:07 a.m. US Eastern Time |
 Re: Response to: "I Got Cable and the AFL Hates Us!" | George Madison | Thursday, 23 March 2006, at 3:37 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| $12 on Directv | billB | Thursday, 23 March 2006, at 7:25 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: $12 on Directv | Phil from Winnipeg | Thursday, 23 March 2006, at 9:14 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: $12 on Directv | billB | Friday, 24 March 2006, at 9:47 a.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: $12 on Directv | Rob de Santos | Saturday, 25 March 2006, at 9:32 a.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Response to: "I Got Cable and the AFL Hates Us!" | Indira | Tuesday, 28 March 2006, at 7:00 p.m. US Eastern Time |
| Re: Response to: "I Got Cable and the AFL Hates Us!" | Rob de Santos | Tuesday, 28 March 2006, at 11:23 p.m. US Eastern Time |
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