SBS Vs FFA; The war that is holding us back

[Socceroo_06]

I thought i would start a thread about the so-called war that is going on between the two most influential bodies in Australian Football, SBS and the FFA. So here is a list of articles i have compiled regarding the dissagreements and arguing that has been going on between these two bodies.

Do you feel that this is holding football back in this country, or do you think it is SBS' duty to be critical of how the FFA run football in Australia?

- SBS in turmoil as O'Neill attempts to gag critics (http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/sbs-in-turmoil-as-oneill-attempts-to-gag-critics/2005/11/05/1130823437895.html)

- Do We Need Craig Foster's Revolution? (http://sportsaustralia.com/articles/oct05/artid3890.html)

- Craig Foster - you are an idiot (http://home.alphalink.com.au/~warrior/ausnews.htm)

- Revolution not Evolution - Craig Foster (http://www.theworldgame.com.au/opinions/index.php?pid=st&cid=62894&ct=33)

- In defence of Craig Foster (http://blogs.foxsports.com.au/football/index.php/foxsports/comments/in_defence_of_craig_foster_p/)

- Foster calls for Arnold's head (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20371838-2722,00.html)

- The Muppets jibe that fuelled a war (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/04/02/1112302291294.html)

- Youth crisis - Les Murray (http://www.theworldgame.com.au/opinions/index.php?pid=st&cid=76465&ct=22)

- Let's be Frank! - Andrew Orsatti (http://www.theworldgame.com.au/opinions/index.php?pid=st&cid=38124&ct=30)

[RobCFC]

FFA must be held accountable.

Accountability is what got us to the stage the game is at the moment, with the Crawford Report and action taken to solve it. FFA appears to think any critique of its policies and debate is a negative, so wrong. The FFA must realise that SBS has the best intentions for the games also as it does.

As Montesquieu said, absolute power absolutely corrupts. Sounds like that is what is happening with the FFA

[VICTORY*PRIDE]

Its crap that they wont be showing Aus game's on free-to-air!:mad:!!

[RobCFC]

Its crap that they wont be showing Aus game's on free-to-air!:mad:!!
In this case it is crap, because SBS is willing to show it.

The principal behind anti-siphoning laws I disagree with. I would love for that legislation to be scraped because with many sports, networks aren’t willing to show it and therefore, if you aren’t willing to show it, give it to someone who will.

But SBS are willing to show it, so in that respect, it’s a shame, but the money pumped into the game through Pay TV is something that cannot hurt the game.

[azza]

I believe everything should be scrutinised in some way, of course within reason

[acmilan_victory]

Should we play a SBS vs FFA friendly before this years A-league grand final?

Murray, Orsatti and co vs O'Neil, Carroll and co

[~LUFC~]

i thought that SBS sacked Awaratefe because he wrote something negative about one of the football authorities (was it NSW or AUS). Doesn't exactly take me as a war then, he was the only smart local coments man they had.

[azza]

i thought that SBS sacked Awaratefe because he wrote something negative about one of the football authorities (was it NSW or AUS). Doesn't exactly take me as a war then, he was the only smart local coments man they had.

I remembered when he called Perth Glory boring

anyway, I wondered what happened to the bloke, now I know

[Victory2006]

i thought that SBS sacked Awaratefe because he wrote something negative about one of the football authorities (was it NSW or AUS). Doesn't exactly take me as a war then, he was the only smart local coments man they had.

Didn't he have a go at John Boultbee?

[~LUFC~]

lol, maybe i had it wrong, but i had read (possibly rumour) after he got fired it was because he wrote a negative letter about a football organisation (i thought it was NSW) and SBS sacked him.

[Socceroo_06]

lol, maybe i had it wrong, but i had read (possibly rumour) after he got fired it was because he wrote a negative letter about a football organisation (i thought it was NSW) and SBS sacked him.

no he wrote a scathing e-mail about the role of John Boultbee

[azza]

no he wrote a scathing e-mail about the role of John Boultbee

what did he say?

[Victory2006]

no he wrote a scathing e-mail about the role of John Boultbee

Thought I was right. :)

[sj]

What a great thread, I've thought about this too!

I tend to agree with Rob. The FFA seem inclined to overeact to any negatives that are said, which is understandable yet slightly misguided. They have to realise and appreciate the good SBS does for football in Australia (although, I daresay they know this) and try to form as good a partnership as possible. They cannot expect every decision they make to be received with glowing praise.

[Victorious]

As Montesquieu said, absolute power absolutely corrupts. Sounds like that is what is happening with the FFA


Ahem. I believe the good Baron said: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

:D

[RobCFC]

Ahem. I believe the good Baron said: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

:D
Typo :(

[LS 11]

Some things worry me here

The most over-riding worry is some folks see SBS are "knight in shining armour" of Asutralian Football. The protector of our game, defender of the faith and all that

SBS is a commercial media outlet - simple. Nothing more, nothing less. It is the same type of organisation as Ch 7, Foxtel, SEN The Herald Sun - They make their money from adverising and have people watch/listen to their shows

The FFA has the remit to run Australian Football. Nowhere in its role does it have to listen to SBS, nor assist them, nor even acknowledge they exist

Now dont get me wrong SBS has performed an admirable service to Austrlian Football. However, recent history clearly shows that they are now past it. At least for the foreseeable future;
- They have lost the right to the national league (ok they never had the A-League rights), now another media outlet has them and is supporting toe code financially

- They have lost the best presenter they had to that same other media organisation

- They are about to lose the Asain Cup and WC qualifiers too

All in all this will leave them......NSWPL, hosted by the 3-4 remaining Sydney muppets who dont have a gig in the A-League. No wonder some of them are bitter

SBS have long had a love affair with themsleves and the Australian Soccer public, but things move on, Soccer has, the A-League has, the FFA has

SBS can whinge moan criticise as much as it wants, thats its right as a media outlet. However they do need to remind themselves that they are now a very small fish in a much larger pond

[~LUFC~]

SBS has the world cup, they are still a very big fish in that regards, and will always get ratings there. I don't care what anyone says, SBS has obviously been doing something right for the last few years. Every National team match on free to air, Champions league, World cup, the world game etc. Where else on free to air to do you get this coverage. SBS IS the "knight in shining armour" for a large majority of football fans. Their success has just been poached by other media outlets, its no coincidence that channel nine and foxtel are offering contracts to sbs personalities. And since The World Game has been reformatted to have a bigger emphasis on the A-league i'd say they got that near enough perfect aswell.
It'd be pretty rude and self arrogant for the FFA and fans to just say "were succesful now, fuck of sbs" because basically, if everything fails, at least you know sbs will be there to pick it up.

[LS 11]

SBS has the world cup, they are still a very big fish in that regards, and will always get ratings there. I don't care what anyone says, SBS has obviously been doing something right for the last few years. Every National team match on free to air, Champions league, World cup, the world game etc. Where else on free to air to do you get this coverage. SBS IS the "knight in shining armour" for a large majority of football fans. Their success has just been poached by other media outlets, its no coincidence that channel nine and foxtel are offering contracts to sbs personalities. And since The World Game has been reformatted to have a bigger emphasis on the A-league i'd say they got that near enough perfect aswell.
It'd be pretty rude and self arrogant for the FFA and fans to just say "were succesful now, fuck of sbs" because basically, if everything fails, at least you know sbs will be there to pick it up.

Your nearly spot on with everything you say there, except

- you make no mention of the A-league, or Asian Cup, which this discussion was about (FFA v SBS)

- The World Cup comes around every 4 years - SBS may not be around then

As i said SBS, were sucessfull. Times change and they arent successful wrt to Australian Football. They are, generally, a set of NSW based tired old men - the Muppetts analogy Farina used is a cracker

[vbwhite]

no he wrote a scathing e-mail about the role of John Boultbee

IIRC the email somehow ;) found its way to the FFA and once they complained Francis was out on his arse.

[futuremelvicstar]

FFA and SBS should be looking to find a relationship with SBS and listen to there ideas. I don't think they are doing it just for that ratings but also so that Australian Football can go foward. Adleast listen to there ideas they make sense to me and if the FFA could give the public an idication of where they are going it would be nice.

[Viv Richards]

SBS does not only focus on games but allows alot of airtime for deep and meangful discussions, news reports, interviews and football current affairs. If the FFA controlled the media content would it be very self critical of itself?

P.s. not everyone can afford PAYTV. I think its basic human right for kids to be able to watch their local heros playing in their own national comp.

I grew up admiring and watching the heroes of the NSL, also watching the birth of Bosnich,Swarzer, Kalac, Farina, Zelic, Viduka and others become international stars.

LONG LIVE SBS!!!!

[Viv Richards]

FFA must be held accountable.

Accountability is what got us to the stage the game is at the moment, with the Crawford Report and action taken to solve it. FFA appears to think any critique of its policies and debate is a negative, so wrong. The FFA must realise that SBS has the best intentions for the games also as it does.

As Montesquieu said, absolute power absolutely corrupts. Sounds like that is what is happening with the FFA

Spot on. Could of not said it any better.

[Gunner10]

Some things worry me here

The most over-riding worry is some folks see SBS are "knight in shining armour" of Asutralian Football. The protector of our game, defender of the faith and all that
That's because they have fulfilled this role for many years now with honour and decency.
SBS is a commercial media outlet - simple. Nothing more, nothing less. It is the same type of organisation as Ch 7, Foxtel, SEN The Herald Sun - They make their money from adverising and have people watch/listen to their shows
WRONG. SBS is NOTHING like CH7, Foxtel, etc. They are mostly funded by government and are nowhere near as commercial as the other bodies you have named. Haven't you ever noticed that you can watch a whole movie on SBS without an advertisement, or that the only advertisements during football half-time are for the shows that are coming up on SBS later in the day/week? meaning there's no advertising revenue for SBS?

The FFA has the remit to run Australian Football. Nowhere in its role does it have to listen to SBS, nor assist them, nor even acknowledge they exist
Nobody says FFA should do what SBS says, just like politicians shouldn't do something just because a journalist says they should.

Now dont get me wrong SBS has performed an admirable service to Austrlian Football. However, recent history clearly shows that they are now past it. At least for the foreseeable future;
- They have lost the right to the national league (ok they never had the A-League rights), now another media outlet has them and is supporting toe code financially

- They have lost the best presenter they had to that same other media organisation

- They are about to lose the Asain Cup and WC qualifiers too

All in all this will leave them......NSWPL, hosted by the 3-4 remaining Sydney muppets who dont have a gig in the A-League. No wonder some of them are bitter

SBS have long had a love affair with themsleves and the Australian Soccer public, but things move on, Soccer has, the A-League has, the FFA has

SBS can whinge moan criticise as much as it wants, thats its right as a media outlet. However they do need to remind themselves that they are now a very small fish in a much larger pond

No, SBS is still the largest fish when it comes to media coverage of football. In fact with only (about) 20% of Australian population having access to pay TV, it'll be a very long time before any media outlet overtakes SBS in football coverage. And I hope it stays that way, because they surely do an awesome job.

[Garzi]

With the game getting bigger and more popular, so will the interest from other commercial entities and hence the more expensive anything to do with the sport will become.

Is the 120 million the FFA received from Foxtel a good thing? SUre it is, it provides football in this country with some stability and the opportunity to grow and expand and become bigger and more popular. Would we have received that amount from SBS...no. Its commercial reality, as the game gets bigger, more $$$ comes into play and the game has to evolve with the market place.
SBS have played and still play an important role in getting the message across.....they show the Champs League, domestic leagues around the world, provide analysis and we all tune in to see it.
The only thing that annoys me about SBS nowadays is that i cant help thinking that theres some bitterness there over some of these issues and it shows in some of the comments that they put forward.

[LS 11]

I think its basic human right for kids to be able to watch their local heros playing in their own national comp.


Shit pal, you really need to see thats theres a real world out there

Basic human right......

[Ascoli Calcio]

I'd love to see an SBS vs. FFA soccer match.

Put Foster in the middle of the park, with a headset, complaining about the technical play 'at this level'. Actually would love to see this. No doubt Lowy would call all the shots.

[Socceroo_06]

I thought i might add this article by Simon Hill. It gives a great insight into the saga.

Unity needed, not division - Simon Hill

These are interesting and exciting times for football in Australia. There are just 93 days to go before the start of the World Cup Finals in Germany. Last Sunday, a capacity crowd watched the inaugural A-League Grand Final at Sydney Football Stadium.

The day before that Sydney FC v Central Coast clash, the Young Matildas followed in the flight path of the Socceroos, the Joeys and the Young Socceroos, as they jetted off to Asia to compete in the nations new confederation...and this week, referee Mark Shield will show its not just teams who are benefiting from the switch to the north, as he heads to Korea to officiate an Asian Champions League game between Chonbuk Motors and Gamba Osaka. Heady stuff.

So, with all these exciting developments at hand, how sad it is that relations between two of the most important bodies in the game - the PFA and the FFA - seem to be so strained. Why the continuing animosity? Well, to my mind, both parties have contributed to the tension.

Part of the reason for the bad blood may stem from the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Socceroos - signed by both parties in August 2005. It’s my understanding that negotiations for that deal were problematic. Those difficulties, coming on the back of disagreements over travel schedules for senior team players - particularly for international matches back in Australia - and the rejection of the PFA's preferred model for the new club competition, made for wounds that have proved difficult to heal.

The recent visit to Australia of former French coach, Aime Jacquet, did little to resolve that rift.

The PFA promoted Jacquet’s visit thus - 'to proliferate technical excellence throughout, so all our players can be given the absolute best opportunity to succeed in a professional career'.

Most would agree that learning from a master like Jacquet offers positive benefits - including yours truly. However, it's also important to recognise the climate in which the former World Cup winner made his visit...and it wasn't just to do with players, the body of men the PFA represent.

This was about coaching, and more specifically, the FFA coaching structure. Some members of the PFA had been very vocal in the lead-up to Jacquet's visit in this sphere - claiming a 'technical revolution' was (and is) required in Australian coaching, starting at the very top with the appointment of a Technical Director. With that in mind, Jacquet’s visit, in my opinion, was always going to be provocative.

This may well have been a trip organised with mostly good intentions of educating and furthering the cause of Australian football - in fact, I’m not denying that was the case - but, and let’s be honest about this, it was also to put pressure on the FFA, and to show that it didn’t have its finger on the pulse when it came to youth development.

In fact, the trip went further than that. Jacquet’s arrival on these shores was always going to throw up the question as to whether he should be given the Technical Directors job itself. Did the PFA actually suggest that? No, they didn’t - they didn’t need to. The media was always going to do that job for them, given Jacquet's profile - and in fact, Jacquet himself made utterances to the effect that 'if Australia was interested, then he would be interested'.

The FFA was having none of it. A short meeting was arranged between Jacquet and the powers that be at FFA HQ in Sydney - but Jacquet left without being offered any post. The FFA felt railroaded by media pressure into speaking a man who was unwittingly being used as a pawn in a power game - a game he probably knew little, if anything about.

The funny thing is, the FFA has never denied there was a vacuum when it came to the development of young players. According to my sources, current Technical Advisor, Ron Smith, has been the biggest agitator for change in recent years, and yet Smith seems to be one of those in the firing line.

To Smith's credit, he bit the bullet, and attended the Jacquet seminar - perhaps, contrary to popular belief, he is keen to learn new things? Perhaps the FFA is already some way down the line to re-structuring itself in terms of youth development but - like the A-League, which was slow in coming - don't want to rush things for fear of implementing a half-baked solution?

You would have thought the recent successes of the new FFA board (brought in, lest we forget, amidst much celebration from nearly all in the football fraternity), would have bought them some time. After all, we are only two years into their tenure, and already we have tangible evidence of improvement - heck, even Paul Kent wrote a positive article on the game in last week's Daily Telegraph newspaper - they must be doing something right.

The FFA had a difficult task when they came into power - in contrast to most new regimes charged with making changes, they had to rebuild from the top down. No ready-made league, a tv deal that actually worked AGAINST the interests of the game, anger or apathy (depending upon your point of view) from the public and the media, a dead-end international confederation, and a national team that had failed to qualify for the World Cup for over three decades.

In the space of twenty four months they have remedied most - if not all, of those ills. Sure, there's still a long way to go, and youth development is one such area that needs to be addressed. The FFA knows that. Surely they have enough credit in the bank for the football public to give them the time to complete the job?

Having said all of that, the FFA itself is not entirely blameless in this episode either. Their hyper-sensitivity to anything remotely suggesting criticism - real or imagined - almost invites this sort of confrontation.

I'm all for strong leadership - goodness knows, the game needs it - and Frank Lowy, John O'Neill and the rest have given us that but refusing to bend to pressure is one thing - crushing debate is another. Robust opinions - so long as they are honestly held - are the lifeblood of football, and occasionally, the FFA is guilty of trying to stifle such exchanges. Surely, dialogue between the PFA and the FFA should be open, regular and not fraught with the type of in-fighting characteristic (so I'm told) of previous regimes - after all, today’s players are tomorrow’s coaches, and aren't we all batting on the same side so to speak?

However, it's my opinion that by trying to trade blows with the FFA, some at the PFA have gone beyond what is necessary. Of course they have a right to their view - and to ask questions - but to openly call for 'revolution' (and revolutions are never peaceful by the way) and involve respected, perhaps even unsuspecting, figures like Aime Jacquet, to my mind goes beyond the pale. Do we always have to wash our dirty linen in public?

Football has had one recent revolution, from which the game is slowly rising from its knees. The last thing it needs is the type of open warfare from another that may stifle the shoots of recovery at birth.

Make no mistake, the enemies of football are waiting to pounce. Now is not the time for division - it's time for unity.
http://www.theworldgame.com.au/opinions/index.php?pid=st&cid=68662&ct=34

[Viv Richards]

Top article, thanks for the post

[SOPS – Lord of the Blings]

The sooner SBS curls up and dies, the better we will all be. It's now nothing but a retirement home for geriatrics, air heads and ego maniacs. They seem to feel that they must compensate for their increasing marginalisation and irrelevance, by making as much noise as possible.

Pension Les off. Thank him for his years of sterling effort, give him a gold watch and piss him, his slurring incoherancy and his mafia suits off the airwaves. Orsatti is a man without a brain and the pontificating Foster is groaning under the weight of his own self important ego and is in danger of imploding.

Football here is changing so rapidly but you kinda get the feeling that SBS still pine for the "good 'ol days", when they actually meant something.

Thanks for everything SBS. Let's move on.

[Gunner10]

I thought i might add this article by Simon Hill. It gives a great insight into the saga.
http://www.theworldgame.com.au/opinions/index.php?pid=st&cid=68662&ct=34
It's an excellent piece, and I recall reading it at the start of the year :).

The sooner SBS curls up and dies, the better we will all be. It's now nothing but a retirement home for geriatrics, air heads and ego maniacs. They seem to feel that they must compensate for their increasing marginalisation and irrelevance, by making as much noise as possible.

Pension Les off. Thank him for his years of sterling effort, give him a gold watch and piss him, his slurring incoherancy and his mafia suits off the airwaves. Orsatti is a man without a brain and the pontificating Foster is groaning under the weight of his own self important ego and is in danger of imploding.

Football here is changing so rapidly but you kinda get the feeling that SBS still pine for the "good 'ol days", when they actually meant something.

Thanks for everything SBS. Let's move on.
Yes, let's all "move on" to channel 7 ... who had done so well with the coverage of NSL and other football matters previously. Or maybe channel 9? Surely, their coverage of the World Cup in 2002 was sensational! Who can forget their lengthy pre-game analysis?

Congratulations, SOPS, you have just confirmed that when Sydney supporters look like idiots - it is not a show they put on.

[Socceroo_06]

I find it actually quite ironic coming from a sydney supporter since some of their members work quite closely with SBS, namely Jubal and Scoops. Also their federation, Soccer NSW has close ties too.

It seems their supporters and federation are "living in the past".

[SOPS – Lord of the Blings]

IYes, let's all "move on" to channel 7 ... who had done so well with the coverage of NSL and other football matters previously. Or maybe channel 9? Surely, their coverage of the World Cup in 2002 was sensational! Who can forget their lengthy pre-game analysis?

Congratulations, SOPS, you have just confirmed that when Sydney supporters look like idiots - it is not a show they put on.

Talk about missing the point. Did I even mention the stone age media outlets like the commercial TV ones you have listed there? Like they're any kind of solution.

Maybe we could continue to fall into line with the rest of the football civilised world and enjoy the massive revenue streams to be gained from Pay TV?

Do you think that Channel 9 or SBS could show us four live games a week?

[Gunner10]

So you believe that only those who can afford cable television should have the privilege of watching football?

Right now, I live in a unit that doesn't have access to either Optus or Foxtel cable. If not for SBS, I would miss out on a LOT of football.

Plus I much rather listen to opinions of Les Murray or Tony Palumbo, rather than Andy Harper or Robbie Slater.

[T.S.R]

So you believe that only those who can afford cable television should have the privilege of watching football?

Right now, I live in a unit that doesn't have access to either Optus or Foxtel cable. If not for SBS, I would miss out on a LOT of football.

Plus I much rather listen to opinions of Les Murray or Tony Palumbo, rather than Andy Harper or Robbie Slater.

Agreed!

[SOPS – Lord of the Blings]

Well, Les Murray doesn't have any opinions, he just stammers and slurs and lets others make opinions for him. He now nothing more than a talking head who can't actually talk.

Palumbo? FFS. May as well get Ned Zelic back.

[Gunner10]

Well, Les Murray doesn't have any opinions, he just stammers and slurs and lets others make opinions for him.
Read some of his columns on the world game web site. The best football journalist Australia has ever seen.

[SOPS – Lord of the Blings]

Read some of his columns on the world game web site. The best football journalist Australia has ever seen.

Oh...my...God.

Let me just catch my breath here. I feel a bit dizzy.

The social evolutionary processes that produced, or helped produce, Australia’s breed of young talent over the past 20 years has creaked to a halt and the talent tap is drying up.

Contrary to mythology, the majority of the long golden generation, from Ned Zelic of 18 years ago to Tim Cahill today, was not made by technical pedagogues or any institutionalised national development system. They were children of the football migrant boom, kids born of football-bent fathers who tried to fashion them in their own image, or products created by the football environment the migrants created.

Who is Harry Kewell, if not the son of a football loving Yorkshireman who wanted his boy to grow up playing and excelling at the beautiful game? Rod Kewell is as much responsible for son Harry becoming a footballer, and a good one, as any teacher or coach.

To begin with, a native Aussie father would have sent Harry on a quest to become a good cricketer, a rugby or Aussie rules player.

When Harry produces a glorious back-heel, or deftly cushions a header so the ball might lob a defender and fall sweetly on to his left foot, it is difficult to believe that such things had been taught to him in a drill by some coach. They come from his genes, from a cultural inspiration and years of practice in his obsessive quest to become what his father dreamed he should become.

The same can be said of Viduka, Bresciano, Culina, Skoko, Aloisi, Schwarzer, Sterjovski and the others.

So that's an example of the writing of "the best football journalist Australia has ever seen" is it?

Strange. It just looks like unhinged, romanticized reactionary shit from a by-gone era. The man is senile.

I try not to swear on forums but Gunner, you're a complete fucking idiot.

[bazza]

top post SOPs

[Popos]

SBS needs an A-League Highlights show to shut them up and keep most of the country happy.

Much as I hate SBS football coverage they are the only FTA channel that deserves it and that we can trust (with the possible exception of ABC who have no money anyway).

[Gunner10]

...
I try not to swear on forums but Gunner, you're a complete fucking idiot.

SOPS, you should just fuck off back to the Sydney forums. My conversation with you is now finished.

[LS 11]

Sops - 100% agree with you

This "Les is God and SBS is heaven" mentality shits me to the core

If SBS were so fucking good, why did their BEST pundit leave SBS and head over to Fox

And to those who despise Fox and Pay Tv - They are financing the league, not you as a member
If you havent got fox or cant get it, find a friend ffs for visit a pub ffs - stop moaning on and on about how Les should be knighted and how SBS is the greatest media invention since the internet

[Gunner10]

If SBS were so fucking good, why did their BEST pundit leave SBS and head over to Fox
Because Fox sports could afford to pay him more. They are a fully-privatised business after all with a massive yearly turn-over.

And to those who despise Fox and Pay Tv - They are financing the league, not you as a member
Foxtel and FFA signed a $120 million deal over 7 years. A-league is only a part of that deal, as the agreement also "covers all Qantas Socceroos home matches, including the 2007 & 2011 Asian Cup tournaments, Asian Cup qualifiers, and the World Cup qualifiers through the Asian Football Confederation in 2008 (selected preliminary matches) and 2009 (all final round matches)." (http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=aus_news_feat_press_releases_item&id=9956).

So if we assume that even a quarter of that goes directly towards A-league clubs (which is a VERY generous assumption), that's $30 million over 7 years, or about $4.3 million a year.

If we take an average membership price to be only $150 (I paid $220 for my silver membership) and an average number of members per club to be 5,000 (rough estimate as these numbers are hard to acquire), that gives us $6 million per year from memberships.

So don't tell me my membership isn't worth anything to my club.

If you havent got fox or cant get it, find a friend ffs for visit a pub ffs- stop moaning on and on about how Les should be knighted and how SBS is the greatest media invention since the internet
Football on free-to-air television lets people who have kids, work crazy hours or are simply too busy with other things, get exposure to the beautiful game. Less than one third of people in Australia have access to cable television.

Plus, if people sign-up for Foxtel just to watch football, that's at least $53 a month (about $630/year) that goes straight to the pockets of Foxtel. As a result, people who do just that are less likely to contribute to membership costs or even attend games if they have all the matches live on their box. So while Foxtel has definitely added to the financial growth of the league, it also has introduced some negative impact for the clubs.

Remember, Foxtel is a business and do things because they are there to make money, and not because of their kind heart or love for the game. SBS does, and has always done, things for football precisely because of that last reason.

[Trueblue]

Because Fox sports could afford to pay him more. They are a fully-privatised business after all with a massive yearly turn-over.


Foxtel and FFA signed a $120 million deal over 7 years. A-league is only a part of that deal, as the agreement also "covers all Qantas Socceroos home matches, including the 2007 & 2011 Asian Cup tournaments, Asian Cup qualifiers, and the World Cup qualifiers through the Asian Football Confederation in 2008 (selected preliminary matches) and 2009 (all final round matches)." (http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=aus_news_feat_press_releases_item&id=9956).

So if we assume that even a quarter of that goes directly towards A-league clubs (which is a VERY generous assumption), that's $30 million over 7 years, or about $4.3 million a year.

If we take an average membership price to be only $150 (I paid $220 for my silver membership) and an average number of members per club to be 5,000 (rough estimate as these numbers are hard to acquire), that gives us $6 million per year from memberships.

So don't tell me my membership isn't worth anything to my club.


Football on free-to-air television lets people who have kids, work crazy hours or are simply too busy with other things, get exposure to the beautiful game. Less than one third of people in Australia have access to cable television.

Plus, if people sign-up for Foxtel just to watch football, that's at least $53 a month (about $630/year) that goes straight to the pockets of Foxtel. As a result, people who do just that are less likely to contribute to membership costs or even attend games if they have all the matches live on their box. So while Foxtel has definitely added to the financial growth of the league, it also has introduced some negative impact for the clubs.

Remember, Foxtel is a business and do things because they are there to make money, and not because of their kind heart or love for the game. SBS does, and has always done, things for football precisely because of that last reason.

WOW- common sense!
Its those approx 66% of the public that should be taped into also. Why exclude them from our national team or league. A weekday highlights show on SBS would not hurt FOX, if anything will provide the platform of future subscribers and most of these would be kids/teens. Plus SBS would be showing the FOX logo televised on all the footage (replays at that).

So why is AFL, RL and RU both on FTA and PayTV.

Why is there a sense that there are forces trying to divide this nations only football backing media, surely there can be a balance in case pay tv fails in the future (memories of CH7).

Journalists/commentators are meant to be controversial otherwise we would have nothing to post. SBS bring another dimension to our sport.

[Viv Richards]

Just found a great website which debates media v administration:

"With Australia experiencing a new kind of football fever, The Fifth Estate investigates soccer's uneasy relationship with the media."

http://fifth.estate.rmit.edu.au/soccer-and-the-media.php



Heaps of articles . Enjoy the read.

[Socceroo_06]

Just found a great website which debates media v administration:

"With Australia experiencing a new kind of football fever, The Fifth Estate investigates soccer's uneasy relationship with the media."

http://fifth.estate.rmit.edu.au/soccer-and-the-media.php



Heaps of articles . Enjoy the read.

That was actually organised by one of the forumites, i forgot which one. Yet it's a great read.

[s3tTz]

That was actually organised by one of the forumites, i forgot which one. Yet it's a great read.
Alistair.

[Gunner10]

Just found a great website which debates media v administration:

"With Australia experiencing a new kind of football fever, The Fifth Estate investigates soccer's uneasy relationship with the media."

http://fifth.estate.rmit.edu.au/soccer-and-the-media.php

Heaps of articles . Enjoy the read.
Yeah, some interesting articles there... Thanks!