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Media News for Australian football fans in the
US and Canada
15 August 2001 Volume 06, Number 28
CONTENTS:
TELEVISION COVERAGE IN 2001 (USA AND CANADA)
FOX SPORTS WORLD
The only US outlets for televised Aussie rules at this time are FOX Sports World (FSWLD) and WNVC.
Coverage includes a 2 hour "Match of the Week" (MOTW)
and a one hour Highlights program. For information on
how to get FSWLD, see below. Featured matches will be available one to two weeks before the
telecast. Footy is listed at the following dates and times for the remainder
of the season:
Match of the Week (2
hours)
August
| Thu |
16 |
11:00 PM |
Round 19- Adelaide v.
Carlton |
| Fri |
17 |
8:00 PM |
Round 19
(repeat) |
| Sat |
18 |
2:00 AM |
Round 19
(repeat) |
| Thu |
23 |
11:00 PM |
Round 20- Hawthorn v.
Western |
| Thu |
30 |
11:00 PM |
Round 21- Richmond v.
North Melbourne |
| Fri |
31 |
8:00 PM |
Round 21
(repeat) |
September
|
Thu |
06 |
11:00 PM |
Round 22 |
| Thu |
13 |
8:00 PM |
Round
Qualifying Finals |
| Sat |
15 |
2:00 AM |
Round QF
(repeat) |
| Thu |
20 |
11:00 PM |
Round
Semi-Finals |
| Fri |
21 |
8:00 PM |
Round SF
(repeat) |
| Thu |
27 |
8:00 PM |
Round
Preliminary Finals |
| Fri |
28 |
2:00 PM |
Round PF
(repeat) |
| Fri |
28 |
11:00 PM |
Grand Final
(Live- 4 hours) * |
* The FOX coverage has now
been extended to 4 hours and is to include both pre and post match
coverage. However, as you will note below this revised
schedule would still result in coverage ending before the
match.
Highlight Program (1
hour)
August
| Fri |
17 |
4:00 PM |
Round 19- North Melbourne
v. Geelong |
| Sun |
19 |
11:00 AM |
Round 19
(repeat) |
| Fri |
24 |
9:00 PM |
Round 20- Collingwood v.
Essendon |
| Sun |
26 |
11:00 AM |
Round 20
(repeat) |
| Fri |
31 |
4:00 PM |
Round 21 |
September
|
Sun |
02 |
11:00 AM |
Round 21 (repeat) |
|
Fri |
07 |
4:00 PM |
Round 22 |
| Sun |
09 |
11:00 AM |
Round 22
(repeat) |
| Thu |
13 |
11:30 PM |
Round
Qualifying Finals |
| Fri |
14 |
4:00 PM |
Round QF
(repeat) |
| Sun |
16 |
11:00 AM |
Round QF
(repeat) |
| Fri |
21 |
4:00 PM |
Round
Semi-Finals |
| Sun |
23 |
11:00 AM |
Round SF
(repeat) |
| Thu |
27 |
11:30 PM |
Round
Preliminary Finals |
| Fri |
28 |
4:00 PM |
Round PF
(repeat) |
| Fri |
29 |
9:00 PM |
Round PF (repeat) |
A note regarding our schedules: 12:00 Midnight is considered the first moment of the new day. This means a
telecast
listed as Friday 12:00 MN occurs Thursday night / Friday morning. All times are US Eastern Standard Time
(EST) or
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) as indicated. Please adjust the times for your time zone.
Schedules are in part, courtesy of FOX Sports World and AFL Films.
GRAND FINAL DAY SCHEDULE
As of now, this is what we know of the Grand Final Day schedule. We expect further details regarding the
entertainment later. The red time is Australian Eastern Standard Time and the
blue is US Eastern Daylight Time.
Coverage begins 1:00 PM AEST 11:00 PM EDT (9/28 US)
Bouncedown 2:30 PM 12:30 AM EDT (9/29)
Expected end of match 5:15 PM 3:15 AM
Coverage ends 6:00 PM 4:00 AM
WNVC-TV WASHINGTON DC METRO AREA
WNVC will carry both the Match of the Week and the Highlights this season. The featured match on each will be the same as
that shown on FOX Sports World the previous week. The WNVC schedule is:
Match of the Week (2 hours)
Every Monday, 9:00 PM EDT
Highlights (1 hour)
Every Thursday, 9:00 PM EDT
WNVC will show the Grand Final in full on tape delay on
Monday, 1
October at 9:00 PM EDT.
CANADIAN COVERAGE
& FOX SPORTS WORLD CANADA
AFANA has been advised by FOX Sports and the AFL that FOX Sports World Canada will carry the Grand Final. We are
awaiting a schedule from FSWC but we anticipate live coverage. We also expect some coverage of the earlier rounds
of the finals. Schedule confirmation is expected in about 7-10
days.
Global Television will officially launch FOX Sports World Canada on 7 September on some digital cable systems. At this
time, neither Bell ExpressVu nor StarChoice have indicated if or when they will carry the channel. Under CRTC guidelines,
neither are required to carry FSWC. The programming will be controlled from
Winnipeg, however initially
FSWC is expected to run primarily FSWLD programming as it is shown in the US.
FOX Sports International, the parent of FSWLD, owns a minority interest in
FSWC.
Again this season, there has not been any coverage of Australian
football in Canada to date.
OTHER
INTERNATIONAL TV COVERAGE
We have the latest info available on coverage around the world at:
http://www.afana.com/tvinfo/tvi_2001_internationaltv.shtml
We welcome additions and corrections from readers around the world.
CONTACTING US
AND CANADIAN NETWORKS AND THE AFL
Please refer to the contact page
to see how you can make your voice known.
Q & A - ANSWERS TO SOME OF YOUR
QUESTIONS
Q: Didn't I see footy on my regional FOX channel a year or
two ago?
A: Wider coverage of the AFL highlights was provided on the FOX Sports Net (FSNet) channels and affiliates (e.g. FOX
Sports Net Pittsburgh, FOX Sports Net West, Midwest Sports Channel, etc.) in 1998 but not since then nor it is expected
again anytime soon. FSNet is now oriented toward the major US sports and showing less secondary sports such as Aussie
rules than they have in the past. Additionally, the priority for which secondary sports are aired (e.g. rugby, cricket,
Aussie rules) appears to be set by the corporate organization. Further, FSNet expects to be paid for the
coverage (by the AFL or it's sponsors) and the asking price is extremely high. Perhaps the pending changes in Aussie
domestic coverage in 2002 will provide some opportunity to change the situation.
Q: Will we get coverage of the Ansett Cup in 2002?
A: Not likely. The AFL has not traditionally provided international television coverage of Ansett Cup matches. To
our knowledge, that will be the situation in 2002.
Q: Who will cover footy in 2002?
A: At this time, we do not know for sure but our expectation is that coverage will be similar to this year. With the
change to Channel 9, Channel 10, and FOXTEL as the producers of Australian domestic coverage, those broadcasters are
likely to favor their US and Canadian affiliated companies.
Q: So what is the situation in Australia for 2002?
A: In the early morning hours of 25 January 2001 US time, the Australian Football League issued a press release which
stated in part: "... AFL had received written notification from the Seven Network that it would not match the News Ltd
consortium's offer for the AFL's free-to-air television broadcast rights for the period 2002-2006. ... "we believe
our agreement with our new partners in the News Ltd consortium -- the Nine Network, the Ten Network and Foxtel --
is an exciting opportunity for the continued development of the game at all levels," Mr Evans [AFL Commission Chairman]
said. ... Mr Evans said the AFL would now be awarding its free-to-air broadcast rights to the News Ltd consortium.
The AFL had previously awarded its pay television rights last December to Foxtel."
In addition, (as AFANA was the first to report), the new agreement also grants international TV rights for Australian
football to News Ltd. This apparently includes the US and Canada.
It's too early to fully assess the impact this will have on our future
coverage. Given the makeup of the consortium and News Ltd's new rights it seems logical to assume that
networks in the US and Canada with FOX or TEN Network business ties would be the preferred future
outlets. FOX obviously has ownership or partial ownership of multiple
networks in the US and Canada and TEN is partly owned by Can West Global. Can West Global and FOX Sports
International are partners in FOX Sports World Canada.
AFL Films will continue to produce highlights programs for overseas networks, using footage from Nine, Ten and Foxtel.
OTHER WAYS TO FOLLOW THE FOOTY...
RADIO AUSTRALIA SHORTWAVE COVERAGE
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) (via Radio Australia) provides coverage of Saturday afternoon matches
(Friday evening US time) on "Grandstand". Radio Australia (RA) targets the Pacific not North America and reception may
vary from day to day due to solar activity and less than optimum frequencies for North American reception. Reception
will be better the further west in the US and Canada you are.
RA is on the web at: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/
For a full and current frequency list of times and frequencies,
see our web site: http://www.afana.com/tvinfo/tvi_2001_shortwave.shtml
Grandstand coverage of footy usually begins at about 10:10 PM US EDT and continues for six hours. Frequencies in use are
21725, 17580, 12080 and 9660 kHz. Grandstand always covers the Grand Final live. See the Internet section for
information on Grandstand via the 'net.
No "special" shortwave receiver is required but you will need one which covers as much of the shortwave spectrum as
possible (at least 5000 kHz to 25000 kHz). At least as important is the antenna. An external, outdoor antenna is
best -- but it doesn't have to be expensive -- often a simple grounded wire will make a big difference. A receiver in the
$200 to $500 range will be more than adequate and allow easy tuning by frequency. An excellent resource is the Radio
Netherlands web site which has lots of info on receivers, antennas, and more:
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/reference.html
AFANA thanks John Figliozzi and Radio Australia for assistance with this information.
INTERNET COVERAGE
This season coverage is available from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and from 3AW via the AFL site:
http://www.afl.com.au/netcast/default.htm
and the ABC web site:
http://www.abc.net.au/afl/default.htm
and the 3AW site:
http://www.3aw.com.au/main.shtml
The service is free and all eight matches may be covered this way. Netcasts are in RealAudio and / or Windows Media
formats. The ABC Grandstand coverage of the Grand Final is expected to be available via the Internet also.
As Seven Network has refused the AFL use of its audio and video at the AFL web site no coverage from the Seven
telecasts will be available this season.
For those without RealAudio there is a "box score" and stats service updated live at the AFL web site. Alternative sites
for "box scores" and commentary are:
Some clubs sites have their own stats and results including:
Port Adelaide (http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au)and West
Coast (http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au).
Fans can also visit the AFANA Chat room as some members have expressed
interest in chatting while the matches are in progress.
GRAND
FINAL PARTIES
As we have since 1996, we are now accepting Grand Final Party announcements. Please
send your particulars to:
. Announcements will be printed in these updates periodically and posted on our
web site. If you haven't started planning your party, now is
the time to do so.
Check out out Grand Final Party
page to see if a party has been scheduled in your area!
Please note that we still expect the coverage to start at
11:00 PM EDT / 8:00 PM PDT but bouncedown is not until 12:30 AM
EDT / 9:30 PM PDT.
If you need some genuine Aussie food to serve at your party we encourage you to check out our new sponsor: Good Aussie
Tucker. They have a special deal for our fans at:
BACKGROUND ON TELEVISED COVERAGE OF
FOOTY (or how to get it on your television!)
VIEWING FROM THE USA
FOX Sports World (FSWLD) is a separate and distinct channel and not the same as FOX Sports West, FOX Sports New England,
ESPN, etc. Some FOX Sports World programming is carried on the other FOX Sports channels (and this programming may be
listed in some schedules and guides as "FOX Sports World") but this does not include Aussie Rules. FSWLD provides
coverage of the 2 hour "Match of the Week" and the 1 hour highlights programs. FSWLD is currently available three
ways: DirecTV (Channel 613) as part of the FOX Sports channel group, DISH Network (Channel 149), and via "digital"
cable. It is no longer available via old style C-band satellite.
Cable
FOX Sports World is available on most (but not all) cable systems that offer a "digital tier". These include some AT&T
(formerly TCI), MediaOne, COX, Intermedia, and AOL Time Warner systems. Except for AOL Time Warner
systems, AT&T provides the feed and the typical feed includes FOX Sports
World. Comcast and Charter Cable affiliates generally do not offer FOX Sports World. The cost of digital cable is
typically $10 to $13 a month additional. We suggest calling your local cable company
office to determine if digital service is now or will be offered in your area and what
channels are included. Due to the thousands of local cable systems in the US and their frequent lineup changes it is
impossible for AFANA to know if your system offers digital service.
AOL Time Warner is deploying it's digital service with it's
own feed. Roll out of digital cable on AOL Time Warner
systems is expected to take several years. All AOL Time
Warner systems with digital service offer FOX Sports World.
DirecTV
FOX Sports World is on channel 613 of DirecTV, a small dish direct broadcast satellite service. It is part of the Total
Choice Sports or Platinum package of channels or can be added for $10 extra to any of the basic subscription packages. For
more info see: http://www.directv.com
DISH Network:
FOX Sports World is on channel 149. It is available as part
of the Everything package or the Top 150 package. For more info see: http://www.dishnetwork.com
Washington, DC only
The Aussie rules portions of FOX Sports World are carried by WNVC-TV in the Washington DC viewing area. For more info
see: http://www.wnvc.org
Mexico
The highlights are available on FOX Sports Latin America. This channel is not legally available in the US and is different than FOX Sports World Espanol - which does not
carry footy. See our International TV page for more information.
Bars and Pubs
Bars and pubs which carry FOX Sports World are listed at
their web site:
http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsworld/bars_clubs.sml
Hotels
DirecTV offers FOX Sports World to hotels which use DirecTV for their internal TV feed. We've not personally noted any
hotels which do have this coverage so far. Should you happen to stay at one, please let us know the hotel and city.
WEB SITES
Stories on the redevelopment of the MCG (links are one line):
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