Gotta Love what Frank is doing

[midfielder]

Great and I think , hope , the future


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23546504-5006068,00.html

Soccer sitting on TV By David Davutovic

April 16, 2008 12:00am

THE battle of Australia's football codes is not confined to western Sydney, with soccer's TV rights tipped to rival AFL when a new deal is nutted out in 2013.

Leading media buyer and analyst Harold Mitchell claims soccer could surpass the NRL's $500 million deal and rub shoulders with the AFL.

Mitchell, the man who advised the AFL when they signed the unprecedented $780 million TV deal, predicted that Football Federation Australia's bargaining power would top the $100 million-a-year mark by the time the rights are up for renewal.

"The soccer rights should be a $100 million-a-year sport by 2013," Mitchell said. "It could be equal to the AFL by then if it is properly presented.

"No doubt it could surpass the NRL. The reason is it can grow into all the states, southern and western. Where the NRL is very strong in NSW and Queensland, soccer can grow into new areas more easily and readily. Also what's developing is that mums want their kids to play soccer.

"They don't like thuggery, so it's perfectly positioned as a family sport. It's minimal contact, it's of high appeal and it is a fast-moving game for TV, plus it's short."

His argument is supported by the Professional Footballers Association, whose research indicates that the soccer rights - A-League and Socceroos packaged together - would eventually surpass NRL.

PFA chief executive Brendan Schwab - a former vice-president of AFL club Richmond - believes if A-League teams are introduced in western Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast before the next deal, the TV rights would be lucrative.

"The question is when, not if," Schwab said in reference to surpassing the NRL's TV rights.

"We may not be No. 1, but the key is being the No. 2 sport in every Australian market.

"The Socceroos can be the No. 1 national team in Australia, with a regular audience of one million and up to 3.5 million for big games.

"Packaged together, these media rights can provide a commercial platform that will sit only behind the AFL in the medium to long term."

Soccer's current seven-year, $130 million deal with Fox Sports was lucrative at the time it was signed - after just one A-League season.

But it was also signed on the eve of the 2006 World Cup and Mitchell said the rights even now would be worth considerably more.

In soccer's favour is that the FFA chief executive Ben Buckley was the man who brokered the AFL's unprecedented five-year, $780 million deal, which remains unsurpassed.

Buckley refused to comment yesterday, citing the expiration date too far away to speculate.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Good to read, looks like the natural order of things is about to be established in Australia.

When can we get CCLC renamed

 

[midfielder]

Good to read, looks like the natural order of things is about to be established in Australia.

When can we get CCLC renamed

I with you ........... mate on the name change...........even suggested on the forum a while back ........... but was told .... the bowlers ......... and sunshine and lolly pops ......... it was in the best interest of the Mariners to remain the CCLC ............ still disagree .... and with you on this.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Central Coast Sports Club sounds the go.......................

 

[dibo]

back on topic - great story, really interesting, a lotta water's set to go under that bridge yet...

midfielder - that sort of story is how the AFL is fought. we've got actual football people in the media now (rather than lowly RL or AFL people forced to do the rounds at suburban sockah grounds, who take out their frustration by looking for trouble). we've got our own cheersquad, and we're slowly gaining on the bigger boys.

 

[midfielder]

back on topic - great story, really interesting, a lotta water's set to go under that bridge yet...

midfielder - that sort of story is how the AFL is fought. we've got actual football people in the media now (rather than lowly RL or AFL people forced to do the rounds at suburban sockah grounds, who take out their frustration by looking for trouble). we've got our own cheersquad, and we're slowly gaining on the bigger boys.

I do realise that and pointing out AFL errors is not and is not my only method of promoting football.

We should have a cup of coffee one day before a Mariners match if you come to the Spirit V Mariners its my shout.

Below is a post I made in another forum the other day and it sort of says what a lot of media people are now doing.

Anyway my shout at Christy if you can make it I will be in the Mariners shirt

Midfielder said  | April 14th 2008 @ 5:46pm (2 days ago)
http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/04/13/melbourne-victory-already-the-8th-biggest-club-in-melbourne/#comment-37971

KB

Dont keep getting dragged into circular arguments with no possible winner but endless dribble over a past no one here today can change and with endless variations of what was.

Concrete on the real issues to hand. Football needs to get through the next three to four years have up and running at least a 10 team hopefully a 12 team comp, played over 33 rounds plus a FA cup style format replacing the final series.

This is the real issue and this is were KB your talent and time can best be served. Here is what is at stake, .. it will be hard to get there .. many distractions will be placed in our way to divert our attention.

OK KB here we go. Australia has about 21.5 million people and let us say the viewing audience is at present equally divided between AFL & NRL. I think it is more NRL but what the heck for simplistic purposes say 50 / 50.

Both codes play in winter, the A-League plays and will continue to play in Summer crossing over in time into pre season winter codes and about four matches further back the AFL & NRL seasons.

To grow to 12 teams, a womens league & a youth league given existing budgetary constraints will be difficult. Also from the youth league and overseas leagues we need players to play in the new teams. Coaches to further develop A-League playing standards by increasing their own ability and that is happening right now with most A-League coaches attached to major European clubs increasing their knowledge,

In the next round of TV negotiations football needs to have proved it can grow have decent crowds and a product capable of being put on FTA which sadly it is not right now. Let us not make unions ARC mistake of rushing a product onto FTA before it is ready.

Why ..why are telling me all this midfielder. Let me explain and back to the population thing.

Assume a TV sports departments want its FTA product to have an audience of say 1.5 million per match. They will need about 15% of 10.750 million. Football on the other hand only needs half that figure or say 7.5% as we are Australia wide and can target the entire population.

If we assume football rusted on hard core types is say 2% only ( I think its more) needing another 5.5 % to reach the magic 7.5 % and be in a very powerful position.

5.5% means 2.75 from AFL 15 and 2.75 from 15 of the NRL figure. In percentage terms that is 2.75 of 15 equals or about 18% drift from both the NRL & AFL prepared to watch football in summer.

What I told you in an earlier post was The A-League in Hal 2, carried out some surveys pertaining to the crowds coming to A-League matches. What was interesting was over 75% of people coming to matches also had AFL & NRL teams depending on what state you came from. Also that about 50% had been to and AFL or NRL match in the season that proceeded Hal 2. In Sydney & Melbourne the figures were a tad higher.

What this means is finding 18% of AFL supporters and 18% of NRL supporters is already well under way. It means that people that like sport will watch the A-League assuming we can build the quality (still a very big ask).

The Socceroos and world cup bids will keep us in the eye of those sport lovers who simply wish to watch sport. At the same time we present no real threat to either the NRL or AFL as they play in winter except for future bragging rights.

So KB divert your Gold Coast energy into how to get through the next 3 to 4 years, and remember for all the wrongs the AFL & NRL have hit football with .. in most cases it was because we let them. Now as we become more mainstream we are masters of our own density there is nothing we can do about the past..nothing we can do about expansion plans of both the AFL & NRL. But we can control what we do and that means the; youth league, womens league, qualify for the WC, qualify for AC, does well in ACL, do well in Pan Pacific, build crowds or at least hold were they are, improve the standard of play, improve refs, develop an FA cup style format involving state or association teams to replace the final series .

KB hope the hand is better (no school boy jokes neither) and hold the faith and play the game .. not the man

 

[brett]

That Harold Mitchell knows his shit - we should get him on board for our renegotiation when the time comes.

Great article by DD - expect more good stuff from him this week.

 

[Paolo]

Bit early to be speculating about a deal to start in 2013....but i spose its the off season and people struggle for news

 

[Jesus]

Bit early to be speculating about a deal to start in 2013....but i spose its the off season and people struggle for news

Cant be too early, it is almost 24 hours since i speculated about it. That the media have the same idea means it is about right

 

[skilbeck]

any free to air deal is good and that is the biggest barrier at the moment between football and the general public

 

[northernspirit]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23545880-23215,00.html

Football 'worth more than league'

    By David Davutovic
    April 16, 2008

THE battle of Australia's football codes is not consigned to western Sydney, with football's TV rights tipped to rival that of the AFL when a new deal is nutted out in 2013.

Leading media buyer and analyst Harold Mitchell claims that football's deal may surpass the NRL's $500 million deal and rub shoulders with the AFL.

Mitchell, the man who advised the AFL when it signed the unprecedented $780 million TV deal, predicted that Football Federation Australia's bargaining power would top the $100 million-a-year mark by the time the rights are up for renewal.

"The soccer rights should be a $100 million-a-year sport by 2013," Mitchell said. "It could be equal to the AFL by then if it is properly presented.

"No doubt it could surpass the NRL. The reason is it can grow into all the states, southern and western. Where the NRL is very strong in New South Wales and Queensland, soccer can grow into new areas more easily and readily. Also what's developing is that mums want their kids to play soccer.

"They don't like thuggery so it's perfectly positioned as a family sport. It's minimal contact. It's of high appeal and it is a fast-moving game for TV. Plus it's short."

His argument is supported by the Professional Footballers Association, whose research indicates that football's TV rights - the A-League and Australia matches packaged together - will eventually surpass those of the NRL.

PFA chief executive Brendan Schwab, a former vice-president of AFL club Richmond, believes the TV rights will be lucrative if A-League teams are introduced in western Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast before the next deal.

"The question is when, not if," Schwab said in reference to surpassing the NRL's TV rights.

"We may not be No1, but the key is being the No.2 sport in every Australian market.

"The Socceroos can be the No.1 national team in Australia, with a regular audience of one million and up to 3.5 million for big games.

"Packaged together, these media rights can provide a commercial platform that will sit only behind the AFL in the medium to long term."

Football's current seven-year, $130 million deal with Fox Sports was lucrative at the time it was signed - after just one A-League season.

But it was also signed on the eve of the 2006 World Cup, and Mitchell said the rights even now would be worth considerably more.

In football's favour is the fact that FFA chief executive Ben Buckley was the man who brokered the AFL's $780 million deal.

 

[RADINHO]

http://marinators.net/forum/index.php?topic=1393.0

 

[Paolo]

Bit early to be speculating about a deal to start in 2013....but i spose its the off season and people struggle for news

Cant be too early, it is almost 24 hours since i speculated about it. That the media have the same idea means it is about right

Yes and in other breaking news there will be a federal election in 4 years time which may or may not see Australia with a new prime minister.

 

[dibo]

Bit early to be speculating about a deal to start in 2013....but i spose its the off season and people struggle for news

Cant be too early, it is almost 24 hours since i speculated about it. That the media have the same idea means it is about right

Yes and in other breaking news there will be a federal election in 4 years time which may or may not see Australia with a new prime minister.

2 1/2 years. but since the war every newly elected party has had at least a second term, even whitlam.

 

[Paolo]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

 

[dibo]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

absolutely, but it's nice to dream.

 

[brett]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

I for one like the odd perspective piece. It's good to look at the bigger picture as we go along rather than hear another story about how Merrick is going to go all-out attack in the next ACL game. Don't be such a cynical little bitch

 

[Paolo]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

I for one like the odd perspective piece. It's good to look at the bigger picture as we go along rather than hear another story about how Merrick is going to go all-out attack in the next ACL game. Don't be such a cynical little bitch

HA, in more breaking news, next year there will be a final series and a grand final....the venue has yet to be decided and it is not known which teams will participate. Stand by for more info ;D

 

[skilbeck]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

I for one like the odd perspective piece. It's good to look at the bigger picture as we go along rather than hear another story about how Merrick is going to go all-out attack in the next ACL game. Don't be such a cynical little bitch

HA, in more breaking news, next year there will be a final series and a grand final....the venue has yet to be decided and it is not known which teams will participate. Stand by for more info ;D

     

 

[Sean]

Well there you, the election period is so boring it seems like 4 years

Still my point still stands, both news stories a long way off, this article shows desperation for a story

I for one like the odd perspective piece. It's good to look at the bigger picture as we go along rather than hear another story about how Merrick is going to go all-out attack in the next ACL game. Don't be such a cynical little bitch

HA, in more breaking news, next year there will be a final series and a grand final....the venue has yet to be decided and it is not known which teams will participate. Stand by for more info ;D

source?