AFL (free to air) is finished

[Ian]

I guess I could keep an eye on the scores, that would be sure to stimulate my interest

[Wedgie]

I guess I could keep an eye on the scores, that would be sure to stimulate my interest

For all games?
Not I, I prefer going to games live and watching the occasional game on TV.
Have a full family Melbourne Geelong membership too.
Probably do another 5000kms plus this year.

[Punk Rooster]

Still waiting on a link Dogger, I hope you're not getting me excited with another of your LCD induced dreams.

or

[Ian]

I guess I could keep an eye on the scores, that would be sure to stimulate my interest

For all games?
Not I, I prefer going to games live and watching the occasional game on TV.
Have a full family Melbourne Geelong membership too.
Probably do another 5000kms plus this year.

That's ok if you are in a financial situation to do that, I'm thinking of taking Zac to one Essendon game in Melbourne this year, that would be the end of my 2010 travel budget

[Wedgie]

I guess I could keep an eye on the scores, that would be sure to stimulate my interest

For all games?
Not I, I prefer going to games live and watching the occasional game on TV.
Have a full family Melbourne Geelong membership too.
Probably do another 5000kms plus this year.

That's ok if you are in a financial situation to do that, I'm thinking of taking Zac to one Essendon game in Melbourne this year, that would be the end of my 2010 travel budget

Its not really costly as we dont pay for petrol or the car and usually get a good deal on accom. I think the biggest cost is my daughter's shopping but she saves up for that herself.
I only mentioned it as your post sounded like I might only follow scores online as far as the AFL goes but it goes a lot further than that.

[Ian]

I only mentioned it as your post sounded like I might only follow scores online as far as the AFL goes but it goes a lot further than that.

No, I know you are all Geelong members and go to a few games, I'm just not in a position to be able to do that.

[Wedgie]

I only mentioned it as your post sounded like I might only follow scores online as far as the AFL goes but it goes a lot further than that.

No, I know you are all Geelong members and go to a few games, I'm just not in a position to be able to do that.

Good thing about the AFL memberships is you can pay them off over 6 months, makes it much easier, not sure I'd do it if I had to pay in one hit.
Its all about priorites though mate, we don't have a drum kit and live in a much poorer area than you and you're always out on the town seeing bands!
As I said, I only brought it up as your post could have been an insinuation that my interest is limited to watching scores tick over online, I just don't like FTA TV that's all, if I was poor I'd probably spend all my time in the pub watching fox!

[Ian]

Its all about priorites though mate, we don't have a drum kit and live in a much poorer area than you and you're always out on the town seeing bands!

and your combined income is more than double ours

[Wedgie]

Its all about priorites though mate, we don't have a drum kit and live in a much poorer area than you and you're always out on the town seeing bands!

and your combined income is more than double ours

But we also don't have the luxury of the mum of the family home being home most of the time too.
As I said before its irrelevent as to my point but if you want to discuss this further with me perhaps save it for the footy on Sunday or start a topic in the GD forum.
I was just taking exception to the insuation that some could have made from your post with the time and effort I spend supporting the Cats.
Only thing that stops me going to over 90% of their games live anywhere is North Adelaide.
I just can't watch Free to Air TV, a bit like you can't handle home cooked special fried rice!

[Gozu]

Not everyone can afford (or justify the cost of) pay TV, should sport on TV really become just a pleasure for the wealthy?

A lot of amatuer clubs play AFL on TV in their clubrooms, can they all afford to have pay TV?

People who want it add free on pay TV only are taking a very narrow minded selfish virew IMHO

I sympathise with what you're saying but Foxtel isn't really that expensive. What is it free installation and the basic package plus the sports channels is around $60 a month, $15 a week. But there is no possibility whatsoever of AFL being exclusively on pay TV anyway, absolutely none. First no Government would allow it and second Foxtel can't possibly afford it. Channels 7 & 10 make up the vast majority of the rights package with Foxtel only being a minor junior partner which is why they get the four games each week the FTA channels don't want.

The problem is Fox do games much better than the FTA channels in my opinion. Both of the FTA channels almost treat viewers with contempt. 7 are a joke and much prefer showing Better Homes & Gardens with massively delayed Friday night games rather than show the game live. Their commentary IMO is year in year out the worst of the three channels. 10 always hype themselves into oblivion. I'll never forget Ben Cousins' first game back with West Coast after the drugs debacle and their muppets were almsot in tears claiming what a heroic comeback it was. I understand they're all just trying to sell us a product (the AFL) but there's such a thing as over doing it. 10 almost always over do it. Fox Sports for mine do the games as close to reality as possible (no frills/rarely over hype) but do have a number of hanger ons in the commentary department. Still BT and Dwayne Russell are for mine two of the best callers.

Speaking of BT & Dwayne Russell they both did the NBL games on Fox this season but now the NBL have signed with One HD and as the main reason I have Foxtel was for the NBL basketball I'll be getting rid of my Foxtel in a few months time anyway

[Wedgie]

People shouldn't be angry with Foxtel, the Government, the AFL or me if it leaves FTA TV, as mentioned before the coverage is nothing short of a disgrace of AFL and NRL on FTA, if they treated it better they'd deserve to have it.
If they treat it like sh!t, they deserve to lose it.
If they covered it in a professional way I'd watch it.
Send your angry messages to the networks.
If you dont and just continue to watch their shows nothing will never change and the best TV will deserve to move to Fox.

[the big bang]

Not everyone can afford (or justify the cost of) pay TV, should sport on TV really become just a pleasure for the wealthy?

A lot of amatuer clubs play AFL on TV in their clubrooms, can they all afford to have pay TV?

People who want it add free on pay TV only are taking a very narrow minded selfish virew IMHO

mate, i'm far from being wealthy, but at $30 a week (and this is the most expensive package possible) i can easily justify the price of having pay TV.

1. a sh!tload of sport for me

2. a sh!tload of whatever the missus wants

3. a sh!tload of cartoons for the grommit

[whufc]

Not everyone can afford (or justify the cost of) pay TV, should sport on TV really become just a pleasure for the wealthy?

A lot of amatuer clubs play AFL on TV in their clubrooms, can they all afford to have pay TV?

People who want it add free on pay TV only are taking a very narrow minded selfish virew IMHO

mate, i'm far from being wealthy, but at $30 a week (and this is the most expensive package possible) i can easily justify the price of having pay TV.

1. a sh!tload of sport for me

2. a sh!tload of whatever the missus wants

3. a sh!tload of cartoons for the grommit

There is plenty of benefits for sporting clubs to get Foxtel, is pricey but can provide lots of income with sporting functions at amatuer league clubs. The Downs Soccer club make 5hite loads from having foxtel there especially from Englisg Premier League games.

[dedja]

Agreed with TSG and Dedja. Wow, that's a first!

I sense a Kumbaya session looming ...

[Q.]

There are plenty of households that won't be able to afford the extra weekly cost of Pay TV. It's a bit naive to say "it's just a few dollars a week", when there is probably a substantial % who live week by week, dollar by dollar. Which is why it isn't feasible to have football covergae solely in the domain of Pay TV - viewership would fall away greatly.

[Ian]

Not everyone can afford (or justify the cost of) pay TV, should sport on TV really become just a pleasure for the wealthy?

A lot of amatuer clubs play AFL on TV in their clubrooms, can they all afford to have pay TV?

People who want it add free on pay TV only are taking a very narrow minded selfish virew IMHO

mate, i'm far from being wealthy, but at $30 a week (and this is the most expensive package possible) i can easily justify the price of having pay TV.

1. a sh!tload of sport for me

2. a sh!tload of whatever the missus wants

3. a sh!tload of cartoons for the grommit

If I really wated it that bad I could afford it, but to do so I (or my family) would have to give up one of the following:

Extra payments on the mortgage which so far have us 9 years in front (and they are less than the cost of the cheapest foxtel package)
My daughters dance lessons (the only sport type activity she does)
My son's drum lessons (he works part time and has paid over $1000 to set his own kit up)
Going to North games
Going out to see a live band (usually less than 1 x a month, sometimes more often)
My 1 carton of beer a month

We had foxtel when my 15yo son was young, got it on a special and kept it for a bit over 2 years, it had is positives, but for the few hours we actually watch TV (mostly due to lack of available spare time), it does not give good value. If I could individually get the channels we wanted and only pay for them I may reconsider, but having a life outside the lounge room and my kids doing the things they love are far more important than a game of AFL at the moment.

[Ingall]

I can't justify getting pay TV either. I could afford it, but apart from the odd game of footy I don't really watch anything. I'm just not interested anymore. So I'd be paying $60/month for about 2 games of football (which is about all I watch on average).

JustinTV will be the answer.

[Wedgie]

Ian, you could save money if you didn't buy Special Fried Rice from the Chinese Shop!
Foxtel's an awesome investment, keeps my missus away from my computer.

[gadj1976]

I heard Rucc saying that the anti siphoning campaign won't allow all sport to be on pay TV. Although they say that only "major sporting events" are subject to anti siphoning rules, and for some reason Friday night footy is one of them, meaning that Fri night footy will always be on free to air. Once again, I don't get it......

My thoughts are (and always have been) that if FTA has the right to show any sport live and doesn't, then Fox should have the ability to show it live.

[Ian]

Ian, you could save money if you didn't buy Special Fried Rice from the Chinese Shop!

yeh I guess that $6.00 (less the 50c for the rice the missus would have cooked) will go a long way towards it

Foxtel's an awesome investment, keeps my missus away from my computer.

My missus hates the computer and wont go near it anyway