ESPN3

According to an international TV schedule released by the AFL, two games from Round 2 will appear this weekend on ESPN2/ESPN3. We are attempting to confirm this with ESPN. The announced schedule is:

ESPN2 Fri 6/12/20 5:30 AM US EDT Geelong vs Hawthorn
ESPN3 Sun 6/14/20 1:30 AM US EDT Sydney vs Essendon

(Note: future schedules will be on our TV schedules page, just click on yellow button above.)(Update 6/12 10:30 AM:) While ESPN has yet to confirm this, the first match did air as scheduled. Overnight, the AFL broadcasting department advised us that up to two matches per week will air for the duration of the AFL season on one of the ESPN networks in the US, not including finals. We will continue to update this note as more information becomes available. Once ESPN replies, we will seek schedules for upcoming weeks and add them to our schedule pages.

(Update 6/13: From ESPN press release: "ESPN has brought back one of its earliest fan favorites, live Australian rules football, which returned Friday morning at 5:30 a.m. ET with the Geelong Cats vs. Hawthorn Hawks on ESPN2. Regular-season action will continue with one live match per week on a linear TV channel and one on ESPN3. ... A total of 32 Australian Football League (AFL) games across 16 weeks will be presented. Commentary and graphics will come from the host broadcaster. ESPN, which launched in September 1979, gained some of its first national attention by airing Australian Rules Football in its first year as the sport quickly grew a cult-like following. ESPN continued with AFL through 1985, airing the Grand Final live the final three years. ESPN2 aired AFL in 1996-97 and 2010-11.")

(Update: 3/8/12: We have schedules now for TSN in Canada on our TV page.  In Round 1 TSN2 will have Hawthorn v Collingwood and 3 more on TSN.ca:  GWS v Syd, Rich v Coll, NMel v Ess.  We don't have US scheds or network yet but you can assume the matches will be the same and you can guess the network.  We will have more shortly.)  (Further info as of 2/28/12:  AFANA's sources suggest that a TV deal for both the USA and Canada is very close. We're waiting for an announcement or details from the AFL. That's all we can say at this stage since it is not possible to confirm any additional information. We don't want to jeopardize any deal or put out unconfirmed info so that's all we tell you at this time. [In other words, asking for more will not get you anything, OK?].)  Original article: This is a brief update on the expected TV coverage of the AFL in North America in 2012.  For US viewers, we can advise that at this time we do not expect any coverage on ESPN affiliated networks in 2012 based on information from ESPN.  However negotiations are on-going according to the AFL. (This has no bearing on whether ESPN covers the sport in other parts of the world.) Coverage on MHz Networks will likely continue however, no agreement has been concluded.  We understand negotiations are continuing but beyond that we do not have further information at this time. 

by Johnson Leung reporting for AFANA from Melbourne with contributions by the AFANA staff

Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants, the AFL's newest team, will kick off the 2012 season with a local derby against cross-town rival Sydney, according to the schedule revealed recently in Melbourne. The Giants will play the Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday, March 24 in the only match of the week, to celebrate the new club's entry into the national competition. Richmond and Carlton have kept their season-opening marquee fixture on the following Thursday night (March 29), with Hawthorn hosting Collingwood on Friday, March 30, in Nathan Buckley's first game as Magpies' coach. High-profile Melbourne recruit Mitch Clark will face his old club, the Brisbane Lions, in his first game for the Demons, on Saturday afternoon (March 31) at the MCG, while reigning Premiers Geelong will kick off its title defense with a trip to Patersons Stadium to play Fremantle that night.  The schedule changes adversely affect fans in North America as there are fewer games that start prior to 1:00 AM US EDT.  Even if ESPN and TSN wanted to show a match at 12:00 MN US EDT every week, that will no longer be possible as the schedule caters (predictably) to the needs of the Australian television networks.

The following is the time line for the the Grand Final day events including key times for match and TV related activities.   All times are listed first in Australian AEST and then in US EDT.  This is based on information from the AFL, AFANA, press reports and past history. This story will be periodically updated with late information.  Click on "read more" to see the entire table of events.

ESPN2 and ESPN3 in the USA will carry the Grand Final between Collingwood and Geelong LIVE on Friday night / Saturday morning, September 30th / October 1st.  US coverage on ESPN3.com will begin at 8:00 PM EDT Friday including most pre-match festivities; Coverage will continue until 4:00 AM EDT Saturday concluding after the awards ceremony.   ESPN2 will join the live coverage in progress with the pre-game at 12:00 MN (Midnight) EDT and continue until 3:30 AM EDT Saturday. First bounce is about 12:30 AM EDT. Canadian coverage on TSN (not TSN2) will be joined in progress at 1:30 AM EDT and run to 4:00 AM. The entire Grand Final will be repeated on delay on TSN at 11:30 AM on October 1st and conclude at 3:30 PM.   TSN.ca will have live coverage beginning at 11:30 PM EDT. through to 4:00 AM. (Canadian fans should press "read more" below and see our full info on this issue).  If you have no access to any of the preceding options, the game will be live on LiveAFL.tv.  If available to you, then you can signup at (removed- obsolete).  Fans should check our TV Schedule page for details on the coverage and our TV Info page for more information on ESPN3, ESPN2, TSN, TSN2, and TSN.ca.   For those looking for parties, see our listings on our Grand Final Party page.  We have a timeline of Grand Final Day events posted here.   (Note:  the only live coverage in North America is via these outlets and they are available nationally via cable and satellite services -- see our TV Info page.)

Pay TV provider Foxtel and its half-owner Telstra have emerged as the biggest winners of the new AFL domestic broadcast deal, as Channel Seven retains the free-to-air rights to the competition. For the first time since 1997, the primary broadcaster will not change. In the biggest media deal in Australian sporting history, Foxtel and country Pay-TV provider Austar have won the right to televise every game (except the Grand Final) live, while Seven has the right to broadcast a minimum of four matches each round during the regular season and the Grand Final live.

Major changes have been announced to the AFL weekly highlights programs and online coverage by the AFL.  Details were made available to AFANA in the past 24 hours.  (There are no other changes we are aware of besides what is reported here.)  The traditional AFL highlights programs have been replaced by a FOX Sports produced program called "AFL Winners" and the the online service previously provided by Aussie Sport TV (ASTV) has been replaced by LiveAFL.TV.  The new service is supposed to support platforms other than the Windows based PC's including Apple Mac's.  (We have not tested this as yet but there are at least two reports that it does work on Macs.)

The new weekly

Good news for footy fans as the newest update to the Xbox 360 dashboard brings another way for fans to watch footy on television. In preparation for the launch of the Kinect motion controller, Microsoft updated the dashboard, adding in, among other things, an ESPN application that give 360 users access to over 3500 sporting events.