(Ed note: 3/23/17 7:00 PM EDT. We have added almost all known schedule listings to our TV schedules page. We still await the official announcement from the AFL and Fox Sports. TSN did issue a press release today.
3/22/17 9:15 PM EDT. We have now confirmed the round 1 schedules with all parties. We also will be adding Round 2 to 5 for Fox to the schedules page in the next 24 hrs. However, we understand that contractual issues remain between Fox and the AFL.
3/22/17 4:00 PM EDT. We have posted the schedule info we have so far on our TV schedules page but nothing has been officially confirmed by the AFL, Fox Sports, or TSN. We anticipate an announcement in the next 24 to 36 hrs. More will follow as available.)
With a little over two weeks until the 2017 AFL season kicks off, the league and its North American broadcast television partners are still in the process of negotiating television rights for the 2017 season and beyond. The AFL is hopeful that the deal is finalized before the Round 1 opener of Carlton v Richmond on March 23rd. This applies to both US and Canada.
While AFANA understands this is not ideal, we are encouraged that the parties involved are still negotiating and are hopeful that an agreement can be reached quickly. None of the parties has indicated that any specific problem is the cause of the delay and we discourage fans from uninformed speculation. While the delay is of concern, we do not suggest fans take any action at this time.
All games will still be streamed on WatchAFL Global to subscribers, regardless of the current broadcast television situation.
Article last changed on Monday, July 30, 2018 - 2:47 AM EDT
Comments
Re: 2017 North American TV Coverage Is Still Up In The Air
Re: 2017 North American TV Coverage Is Still Up In The Air
Fox has done preliminary scheduling and was optimistic back in January that a deal would be done by now. That hasn't happened. As a result, instead of having the schedule through round 6 or so by now, we have what we have. We suspect they were given preseason rights on anticipation of a deal by the AFL but that extension does not include the regular season. If a deal does not happen coverage would stop after this week and the Round 1 and 2 games shown would be dropped.
We remain guardedly optimistic this gets done because it is in all parties interest that it does.
-Rob
AFANA Founder and Site Admin
Re: 2017 North American TV Coverage Is Still Up In The Air
I am anxious to share U. S. TV coverage information with friends in both the real and virtual universes. More than slightly anxious and frustrated. A mere hours until first bounce as of this writing. Have Fox Sports 1 & 2 ever shown promo spots for AFL or NRL games during the week? I've never seen any. A ten second spot here and there would take away precious little air time from more important programs.
Re: 2017 North American TV Coverage Is Still Up In The Air
Look at me: I'm starting to sound like yet another grumpy sports fan. Seems hard to avoid!
Re: 2017 North American TV Coverage Is Still Up In The Air
Given that we are still waiting for the announcement this season, I don't find this surprising. If, what you mean, is that they rarely have over the past six seasons, I'd agree with the observation that they rarely promote anything on Fox Soccer Plus anywhere.
-Rob
AFANA Founder and Site Admin