The Soaring

It seems Channel 9 has trumped the Seven / Ten cartel to win the bidding war over AFL TV rights for 2007 - 2012. An incredible $780 million has been thrown on the table by 9 and Foxtel which gives 7/10 a fortnight to match.

Whilst part of me thinks footy must really be a profitable business for these mega-media outlets, another part thinks this is really all about Kerry vs. Kerry ego-knuckles war. Both blokes want to win. It’s about ego, pride and beating the other bloke. Money is simply the tool and the AFL rights just the ring by which one of these men will triumph over the other to score the honour of housing the AFL TV rights in his pool room.

To be honest it’s hard to know what this means for the average footy punter. Having access to all of 7,9,10 and Fox what do I care. Whoever comments on 95% of the Eagles’ games will be the worst in the business and we will see the team sing the club song 1 in 4 wins, that much is a given, so it matters not to greatly. When most footy fans are thinking “wouldn’t it be great if the networks to telecast like…”, I’m just hoping we don’t end up going backwards, like the removal of live away games, the loss of weekly replays on Fox, and the return of Tony Shaw behind the microphone.

Good luck to whoever has the deepest pockets, the steeliest resolve or the biggest ego. For the sake of all footy fans everywhere, may the best Kerry win.