TV Schedules

In the biggest media deal in Australian sporting history, the AFL announced on 6^th of September that Channel Seven and Foxtel have retained the Australian domestic broadcast rights to men's and women's competitions for a further seven years, fending off strong challenges from rival channels Nine and 10. The new deal, which expires at the end of 2031 season, is worth a total of A$4.5 billion (US$3.08 billion) at an average of A$643 million per year, a large increase on the A$473 million per year figure for the two-year contract extension Seven and Foxtel signed with the League in 2020, at the height of COVID pandemic. The previous rights deal from 2017 and 2022, also with Seven and Foxtel, was worth A$2.5 billion. [Ed. note: This new deal does not immediately affect coverage in the US and Canada which are covered by pre-existing contracts extending beyond this season. The current AFL deal with Fox Sports US has a mutual renewal option for the 2023 season.]

Another note to alert everyone that AFANA is closely tracking any developments the AFL makes to their season plans going forward. For now, everything downunder is suspended and the league is desperately trying to manage the financial impact. Fox Sports in the US is airing re-runs from March all month on Fox Soccer Plus but no other channel at this time. TSN is not airing any AFL coverage so far as we know in Canada. Our TV schedules are up to date through the end of April. Other pages like the radio page, draw pages, etc. will be updated as things become clearer. 

Fans have also asked for an AFANA financial status report. It's still unstable in the long run but thanks to some limited sales commissions from WatchAFL and severe cost cutting, we will survive for the next few months for sure. As long as the season is shut down, that revenue will cease after May and we'll reassess where we are in early June. We badly need donations, particularly monthly commitments to cement our long term survival. We know that all of the chaos brought about by the COVID-19 virus puts added financial pressure on each of you as well. If you are fortunate and can spare some dollars please consider a donation using either of our donation buttons (GoFundMe or PayPal) at the top of the page. Consider $10 a month but any amount helps. Thanks for your support.

Just a quick note to alert everyone that AFANA is closely following any changes the AFL makes to their schedule, whether it ends up being a shortened season as indicated overnight or is ultimately canceled. That will have a ripple effect on our TV schedules, radio page, draw pages, etc.  As the dust settles we will make the necessary updates or notes but it might take awhile for everything to trickle down to the entire site and the networks to catch up.

Fans have also asked about where we are financially. It's still precarious and we badly need donations to pay the bills and debts. We know that all of the chaos brought about by the COVID-19 virus puts added financial pressure on each of you as well as on our long term viability. Please continue to consider a donation using either of our donation buttons at the top of the page. Thanks for your support.

Over the weekend, we updated our TV schedules page and companion Google calendar to include the preliminary scheduled times up to the Grand Final for Fox networks and WatchAFL. For Fox, all finals in weeks one to three are live on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) only and repeats on Fox Soccer Plus (FSP). The Grand Final is on FSP only. WatchAFL has all matches, live and on-demand. Canadian schedules haven't been released yet but we're expecting something soon.

All live times are, of course, subject to change since the AFL adjusts match times during finals on a weekly basis. We've gone with what Fox provided us and for WatchAFL, with what the AFL did last season. The two vary a little for week one but we should have something firm by the end of August. The weeks 2 and 3 plus the Grand Final all line up and agree with recent years. We'll continuously update the schedules as we get closer to the end of the season and more info comes in.

We also are offering discounts for all WatchAFL subscriptions through the end of the season. It's 10% off for fans using code AFANA10. Be sure to go to https://mbsy.co/lhBGw and enter the code before you select which subscription option you want. Then click apply and choose the length of your subscription. If you have a bar, pub, or other venue hosting a party or showing AFL matches, contact us for a special code and save massively.

Need meat pies? Save 15% at DUB Pies using code afana18 (lower case) at https://www.dubpies.com/ Using our links and discount codes helps fund what we do at AFANA. We receive no financial support from the AFL or networks and depend entirely on you, the reader, to keep us going.

The AFL and Rightster have announced that Round 19 of the 2015 season, the "Multicultural Round", will be free on WatchAFL (both live and on-demand replay). WatchAFL is the internet streaming video service for footy fans outside Australia. If you haven't tried the service, this is an excellent chance to do so.

In addition, for replay only, all matches will be available in an alternate language in addition to English. We have the live coverage schedules for WatchAFL on our TV schedules page.

Registering for a "free" pass will be available beginning on August 5th at the WatchAFL website. They have also announced that each game will be available in one additional language besides English for replays only. Languages include Greek, Hindi, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic, depending on the game.

by Johnson Leung reporting for AFANA in Melbourne assisted by AFANA staff in Australia, Canada, and the USA

The Aussie Rules community is mourning the tragic death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh at just 55. Police and ambulance crews were sent to Walsh's home at Somerton Park, a seaside suburb 7 mi southwest of Adelaide city center, just after 2 AM Friday Adelaide time (12.30 PM Thursday US EDT) following reports of family dispute. They found Walsh with multiple stab wounds to his body. Paramedics treated him on the scene, but he could not be revived. Walsh's wife of 28 years, Meredith, was admitted to Flinders Medical Center with leg wounds and discharged the following day.

Walsh's son Cy, 26, was arrested by police a short time later outside a school friend's house at Glenelg East (1 mi north from Somerton Park), where he had been regularly staying. Cy was sent to the same hospital for psychiatric assessment and was charged with murder at a bedside hearing in Friday afternoon. He has since been moved to James Nash House, a secure mental health facility, and will remain in custody until a court hearing on September 15. We have details of the impact to US TV coverage toward the end of this article.

Note to US viewers of AFL coverage on Fox Soccer Plus: with the approach of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the Women's World Cup in that round ball sport, the repeats of live AFL matches on FSP will dwindle dramatically over the next few weeks. At this point, you should not expect any repeats from week 9 through round 14. Coverage should begin to return to normal after July 5^th, 2015. Once the events are underway many weeks have no repeats at all (although FSP have added some additional live matches). Accordingly, we encourage fans to check the TV schedules frequently and make sure you have the correct games and times programmed to record should you not watch live. Do not depend solely on your on-screen guide! DVR, cable, and satellite guides are not updated as often or as accurate as our listing. As is normal, we will be updating our TV schedule page several times a day and we will make sure that any last minute changes are posted as soon as possible. Coverage on other networks is not expected to be affected in a similar way. We will update this post if necessary.

A long running problem should now be resolved. Since the AFL coverage has been on Fox Soccer Plus, any match originating from the Seven network usually was transmitted in wide screen standard definition (SD). Due to DirecTV policy, viewers using that satellite network only received the game on the SD version of FSP. The HD channel (621.1) was blacked out. This affected only DirecTV customers but was the source of great frustration and confusion. As of Round 4, 2015, Seven network will be producing all AFL matches in HD. (Foxtel already does this.) Therefore, as of this weekend, DirecTV no longer has any excuse to black out live matches on 621.1. All viewers should benefit from improved picture quality.

Regarding this coming Friday, the game between St Kilda v Carlton is listed by FSP at 8:00 PM. The match is in New Zealand and by all the sources we have from the AFL begins at 11:00 AM Melbourne time which equates to 9:00 PM US EDT. Fans are strongly encourage to take this into account when setting their video recorders or planning their viewing of the game. We have advised FSP of the issue and await an explanation or correction. While it's possible that ANZAC pregame ceremonies are being included however in this case the time window for the game is too short. (Update: 4/23/15: The AFL has confirmed the start time of the game as 9:10 PM US EDT. Pre-game ceremonies start approximately 8:38 PM . Telecast start time will be 9:00 PM. We have confirmation of that from the AFL and FSP. Coverage will run until 12 MN EDT.)