Unfortunately,Mhz Networks is the only outlet I have available for footy,being I live in rural Arizona. I could not believe that anybody besides a Cats fanatic would vote to see what would obviously be (and did become) such a lopsided match against Brisbane. Now I notice that the next 2 weeks matches are also involving Geelong. I'll give a little creedence to the Collingwood choice, but Sydney? Three weeks in a row of Cats seems awfully suspicious, especially considering there were more competitive matches available. And it's going to be a long stretch before ESPN broadband is available here. I miss when Setanta had the contract. I could get them on my C band dish. Oh well, I guess one can fervently hope for a brighter broadcast future.
bccphotec
Hi bccphotec,
Let's make it absolutely clear that there is no evidence of ballot stuffing at MHz. More likely is that the voting levels are so low that a handful of fans can tip the choices in one direction. It's also the case that MHz can only choose from the 3 matches that ESPN3 has on offer for a given week. That further limits the choices. Additionally, ESPN choose the matches at the outset of the season well before they could have known how Brisbane would be playing in Round 17 or 18. I wish they hadn't but it is what it is and AFANA will encourage them to use more flexibility next season. MHz is there to fill in where ESPN doesn't reach and obviously does that in some way for you.
No matter which club you support, there are fans that support the opposing club and many of them. Surveys taken by AFANA over the past 15 years clearly show every AFL club has support here. What makes you unhappy makes someone else happy.
Lots of fans miss Setanta's coverage including me but ESPN is doing a highly professional job and presenting games in HD, something Setanta couldn't do. For everyone fan missing Setanta, we have someone happy with ESPN. From 1998 to 2009, AFANA heard over and over (you can check the old messages here) that the AFL didn't know what it was doing being on Fox Sports World / Fox Soccer Channel / Setanta Sports and if AFANA and the AFL had a clue the sport would be on ESPN. We just can't please everyone. I won't be playing any garden parties anytime soon. (Apologies to Ricky Nelson).
All I can say is hang in there. Given history, the coverage will change, improve or worsen (depending on your point of view), and we will surely hear from fans both happy and unhappy about the change.
Finally, I have edited your message. Our terms of service indicate this is a family friend site and we're keeping it that way.
-Rob
AFANA Chairman Emeritus and Site Admin