This week I’m going to look at what makes Sunday footy so good and where I want to see the next round of television agreements to go.
Sunday Football
I think all rugby league fans have a soft spot for the Sunday timeslot. It is ideal for families – a 2 or 3pm kick-off allows plenty of time to get out to the game, spend a couple of hours in the sun, and get home to put the kids to bed at a reasonable hour.
For those without kids Sunday football can be very fun. Most of the grounds have facilities nearby to allow fans to go and get a drink or a coffee and ‘talk tactics’ with their mates pre and post-match. There are plenty of debrief venues around and you can still get home for an early night before work the next day.
The night games don’t finish until nearly 10pm sometimes and for mine, night games outweighing the day games is something we need to fix.
TV Scheduling
One thing that must be made clear – television is vital to our game. Both Channel Nine and Fox Sports pay plenty of money for the broadcast rights and they both do a very good job. The current schedule we have (two Sunday games most weeks) is what they want. The games rate well in the slots they’re given and most people want the games live.
I have proposed a new TV schedule below that I know is very unlikely to get up. There are all sorts of money, rating, advertising and stakeholder issues to deal with, but I’d love to see this change.
The below schedule has been based around a discussion on the excellent Channel Nine NRL show, The Sunday Roast, last week.
My Proposal
First things first – scrap Monday Night Football. It is great for TV and Fox love it. I watch it too when I can. But attendance is often down at the grounds indicating to me that fans do not seem to like it. I’m not sure the players like it that much either. It must be frustrating to have to sit through an entire weekend waiting to play your game. And it’s been fairly well documented teams tend to struggle the week after a Monday Night game.
Having said all that, I am happy to compromise and keep Monday Night Football.
Ideally I would have 4 games played on a Sunday afternoon. However that will not happen in an eight game weekend. Here is my proposal:
Friday Night Football - Two games live (One on Fox at 7pm, One on Ch 9 at 8pm)
Super Saturday – Two games live on Fox (5:30pm, 7:30pm)
NRL Sunday – Three games (two live):
Fox Sports live at 3pm
Channel Nine live at 2pm (followed by 4pm game on a one hour delay)
Monday Night Football – One game live on Fox (7pm)
(Alternatively shift this game to 7pm Sunday)
That schedule I believe is very fan friendly to those that regularly attend matches, while probably doesn’t favour the television audience as much. It also allows the possibility of more ‘Double Headers’ particularly at the bigger venues.
In the coming weeks I want to have a look at how we can get all teams on free-to-air television and why we should NEVER adopt the AFL system of a pre-determined draw.
TIPPING
Tips – Melbourne, Brisbane, Parramatta, Cowboys, Manly, Canberra, Newcastle, Bulldogs
Last Week – 4/8
Total – 14/24
I would love to hear your thoughts on Sunday football and television scheduling. Best way to reach me directly is on the email, andrew.keyte@gmail.com. You can always track me down on Facebook or over at Twitter (@keyto316) and of course using the comment section below.
I’m on the road this weekend, down to Sydney for the Easter break. And I will make a return, after more than 10 years, to the Sydney Football Stadium for the Broncos big match with the Roosters.
Catch you all later,
Keyto
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