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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.  (Revised 9/28/12)

Fox Soccer Plus (FSP) in the USA and TSN2 in Canada will carry the Grand Final between Hawthorn and Sydney LIVE on Friday night / Saturday morning, September 28th / 29th.  US coverage on FSP will begin at 9:00 PM EDT Friday including most pre-match festivities; Coverage will continue until 4:30 AM EDT Saturday concluding after the awards ceremony and post match interviews. First bounce is about 12:30 AM EDT. Canadian coverage on TSN2 will begin at 11:30 PM EDT and run to 4:00 AM. If you have no access to any of the preceding options, the game will be live on LiveSport.tv and you can signup at (removed link - obsolete).  Fans should check our TV Schedule page for details on the coverage and our TV Info page for more information on FSP and TSN2   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.)

The AFL announced today that it had reached a three year deal (2012-2014) with Fox Sports for weekly AFL coverage on FOX Soccer Plus (FSP).  FSP is the subscription channel counterpart to Fox Soccer (formerly Fox Soccer Channel and before that Fox Sports World).  The cost will be $14.99 a month and FSP is available to customers of DirecTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, most Time-Warner and Brighthouse cable systems, Cablevision, Cox, BlueRidge, Bendbroadband, SureWest, FullChannel, Frontier, and RCN cable.  The AFL was unable to come to a deal with ESPN for continued coverage on their outlets.  Coverage will be two live matches per week typically (will vary occasionally) plus all finals live. The AFL Winners weekly highlight show will be available on FSP also. AFANA will post more detailed schedules in the next few days and update all of our TV pages to reflect this change in coverage. (TV pages have been updated)  Canadian TV coverage will remain on TSN2 with one live match per week.  (Addendum: 03/23/12: MHz has confirmed they will continue coverage this season with games on Monday nights at 10:00 PM EDT, repeated on Saturdays at 4:00 AM EDT.  Matches will be edited to 2 hrs and they will not carry the highlights programs ("AFL Winners") this season on Saturdays. Also, FSP on some Time Warner systems which offer the Sports Pass package of channels,  FSP will be just $5.99 -- price may vary slightly in some areas.)

(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. 

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.)