NewsCorp reporting that a press conference will be held later today to announce a new $2bn broadcast deal. (and throw some high fives now that Hird has gone)

They must be pizzed that Hird has yet again spoiled their 'good news' story and stolen the headlines.

The supposed $2bn is a long way up on the $1.25bn deal signed in 2011. That's inflation for you....

Telstra supposedly still has the digital rights....

Can't wait to see how the fans get screwed into purchasing foxtel this time.

Can't wait to see how the fans get screwed into purchasing foxtel this time.

Caroline Wilson said on 3AW this morning that Seven will dump Saturday afternoon broadcasts. Instead she says there will be 12 Thursday night games which Seven will cover. In summary, that means 10 fewer games over the year on FTA TV.

Thanks LDC.

I knew there'd be something in there to further entrench Foxtel.

Can't have more games on FTA now that they have more capacity now can we?

I'm sure the streaming rights will still be a joke, and Channel 7 will probably stick with SD.

No FTA game on a Saturday afternoon is a complete joke. Undermines the culture of the game imho.

I'll bet someone will argue that the AFL Women's game played on Sunday outrated the Essendon v Adelaide game the previous day (which it did) without bothering to mention that the Saturday game was on delay and by the time it went to air the result was already a foregone conclusion.

Even though I don't have Foxtel, I'm less fussed about Foxtel getting an additional 10 games than I am about Channel 7 getting the rights to FTA games. I'm a constant critic of Seven's blatant disregard for the game itself.

Yeah I'm with you on that, 7 is pretty bad.

But pretty bad is better than nothing, or sitting behind an unreasonable paywall.

Caroline Wilson said on 3AW this morning that Seven will dump Saturday afternoon broadcasts. Instead she says there will be 12 Thursday night games which Seven will cover. In summary, that means 10 fewer games over the year on FTA TV.

i also believe the $2B will be for a 6yr deal instead of 5yr deal as before

so the value compared to previous deal is $1.67B vs $1.25B (over 5 years) effectively a 1/3rd increase

I'll bet someone will argue that the AFL Women's game played on Sunday outrated the Essendon v Adelaide game the previous day (which it did) without bothering to mention that the Saturday game was on delay and by the time it went to air the result was already a foregone conclusion.

Even though I don't have Foxtel, I'm less fussed about Foxtel getting an additional 10 games than I am about Channel 7 getting the rights to FTA games. I'm a constant critic of Seven's blatant disregard for the game itself.

there was a report that ch7 would switch to HD (as early as this year's GF) which would help......hope so

Edited August 18, 201510 yr by daisycutter

Can't wait to see how the fans get screwed into purchasing foxtel this time.

And I can’t wait to see if my decision to waste hundreds of dollars on re-runs of "Friends" will remain justifiable.

NewsCorp reporting that a press conference will be held later today to announce a new $2bn broadcast deal. (and throw some high fives now that Hird has gone)

They must be pizzed that Hird has yet again spoiled their 'good news' story and stolen the headlines.

The supposed $2bn is a long way up on the $1.25bn deal signed in 2011. That's inflation for you....

Telstra supposedly still has the digital rights....

I wish Telstra would pick up their act. If I could watch live AFL on my computer, I wouldn't need foxtel. Telstra have been sloppy.

Ten are crazy for not going hard at this with Fox. Missing out on both major codes put them in the wilderness 4 years ago. Now they're stuck with the dregs of Australian sport for the next 7 years.

I sincerely doubt three FTA stations will be viable in the year 2022.

The supporters are all the poorer too. Only 3 games on FTA means only 6 clubs getting exposure every week. What hope does our club ever have of getting in on the action when Seven will be demanding the 3 premium games for their prime time slots (and, when they have Thursday night games, being forced to feature 2 of the 4 teams from the previous week's Thurs and Fri games).

The commentators are heralding the cash injection the AFL will be able to give the struggling clubs now, but what's the point if there's so little exposure on free-to-air?

As for Telstra, as if you can expect a quality service from them when they have their fingers in Foxtel's pie? It's a rort, right down to the abysmal quality and restriction on connecting it to external devices from your phone / tablet.

They'll do anything to lessen the increasing threat to Foxtel's stranglehold over Australian sport. One need only look at how Abbott couldn't wait to dismantle the NBN to see who's pulling the strings here.

There are a number of clubs stuck in the 'vicious circle of poverty' resulting from poor time slots, home games vs interstate teams, low membership numbers, few 'blockbusters', few telecast games etc.

While winning games will help, it is not the answer...just look at the Bulldogs...great footy, possible top 4 and they can't get more than 25,000 to a home game at Etihad.

While not optimistic, the AFL should use some of that extra $$$ to help the struggling clubs and not just the interstate ones!

And it needs to be more than a few crumbs!

Time for true 'equalisation', AFL

Otherwise, North, Saints, Bulldogs and Demons will forever struggle.

Edited August 18, 201510 yr by Lucifer's Hero

As for Telstra, as if you can expect a quality service from them when they have their fingers in Foxtel's pie? It's a rort, right down to the abysmal quality and restriction on connecting it to external devices from your phone / tablet.

They'll do anything to lessen the increasing threat to Foxtel's stranglehold over Australian sport. One need only look at how Abbott couldn't wait to dismantle the NBN to see who's pulling the strings here.

This is how I see it as well.

Telstra getting streaming rights is a disaster, as they'll just offer the poorest service they can get away with in order to drive Foxtel subscriptions.

I bet I won't be seeing an "AFL App" on my TV any time soon. The idiots even went out and bought and branded a bunch of Roku 2's to sell and package, which is already surpassed by the Roku 3.

Ultimately though, the AFL have just banked $2B. Does the success or proliferation of smaller clubs even matter now?

Seven will only want matches with the "blockbuster" teams now. Just look at the way they've manipulated Friday night games into the repetitive Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton, Hawthorn mess it is now.

Huge deal.

2.508 billion.

I just hope the digital side gets made better. I want to be able to watch live on a computer and not have to resort to my iPhone.

i also believe the $2B will be for a 6yr deal instead of 5yr deal as before

so the value compared to previous deal is $1.67B vs $1.25B (over 5 years) effectively a 1/3rd increase

It's $418M per year for six years for $2.5M.

No changes other than one less game on FTA and more money for the AFL.

Foxtel can sell on the Saturday afternoon game to another network whenever they want.

No progress with any digital platforms.

When asked about the possibility of broadcasting in HD on FTA, Stokes said "Yes", then said they'd look into it, technical issues blah blah.

Less seven games means less crappy commentators!!!

Hooray!!!!

It's $418M per year for six years for $2.5M.

yeah, saw that - huge

(2.5 *5 / 6) / 1.25 * 100 = 166.7% so a 2/3 increase over previous contract

that's a huge increase for the media industry supposedly under pressure and struggling

We're saved!!!!

it's been a big day.

the devil, as they say, will be in the detail.

Edited August 18, 201510 yr by DemonAndrew

Given people forecast it'd be 2billion max there'll have to be some catch with such ludicrous amount of bucks. Footy's value has doubled? Looks good now but I'm sure it'll cause some problems down the line. At least we have a Friday night game confirmed now though

No changes other than one less game on FTA and more money for the AFL.

Foxtel can sell on the Saturday afternoon game to another network whenever they want.

No progress with any digital platforms.

When asked about the possibility of broadcasting in HD on FTA, Stokes said "Yes", then said they'd look into it, technical issues blah blah.

There appears to be some scuttlebutt that Foxtel (part owned by News Corp) might onsell the Saturday game to Network 10 (part owned by News Corp). On the one hand I can see the logic of it enhancing 10; on the other hand, it seems to devalue Foxtel. Personally, I hope 10 gets it, not just because its FTA, but I'd like to see more competition between the networks which should improve the quality of the product delivered to the consumer.

Fewer games on free to air TV, more games in rubbish time slots (eg Thursday nights) = win for football fans in the eyes of the AFL. They won't have any fans left by the end of the new deal at this rate.

Apparently the networks have no control over the fixture, it is all in the hands of the AFL. If you believe that, you would believe that Vladimir Putin is Santa Claus in his spare time.

I can't see why we can't have two games on Friday night, like the NRL do, instead of worrying about twilight games and Thursday nights.