Australia NewsTen Eyes A-League TV Deal |
Channel Ten says covering the A-League in the future “is not out of the question” as it gears up to broadcast the glamour friendly between Sydney FC and LA Galaxy.
With David Beckham as the main drawcard of the November 27 game – as well as FC's Brazilian superstar Juninho – the network tells au.fourfourtwo.com the game is a perfect fit for their station.“The whole thing of Beckham fits perfectly with our younger core audience,” said Channel ten Sydney publicist Gus Seebeck.
“We are certainly committed to the Beckham match. That commitment is being shown in our production costs which reflect a major event. We'll be broadcasting the game in HD [High Definition] at significant cost.
“We are also preceeding the game with a documentary style interview with David Beckham that we'll do when he gets here.
“It's prime-time coverage. We're hoping that the ratings will be similar to some of the major sports events we have with our AFL and other sports. We have an appetite for any sports we can get our hands on that are commercially viable. ”
Ticket sales for the Tuesday night game have been brisk with a sellout crowd of 82,000 expected.
Meanwhile, the A-League's ratings have surprised many. Fox Sports viewing figures for last season's A-League grand final were up 23% on the previous year with 282,000 viewers and a reach viewership of 828,000.
Seebeck added of the FC versus Galaxy match: “It's a toe in the water. It's not out of the question that we could do something in the future. It's really a question for the FFA and their agreement with Fox Sports.”
The major sticking point is that Fox Sports has signed a long-term deal (for the first seven years of the A-League) with the FFA to broadcast the league. It would require the cable TV network to give up a small part of what it's paid for as exclusive content.
However, there is an argument that by allowing a free-to-air broadcaster to also show some of its exclusive A-League content, it's a form of advertising for potential new Foxtel subscribers.
While many fans have been impressed with Fox Sports' coverage, its reach is only about 25% of the viewing marketplace. And that leaves a significant number of fans having to rely on websites like this one to provide updates on A-League games.
What do you think? Should Fox Sports on-sell an occasional A-League game to Channel Ten or other major free-to-air networks to promote its coverage of the A-League and give the wider Aussie viewing public a chance to see it? Tell us YOUR thoughts below...
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