Channel 7 will delay the telecast of Friday night football

[Squawk]

Channel 7 are ridiculous. They don't show any games live unless it is a Crows or Power Game. Even on a Sunday they don't show live football. It is an absolute joke that in this day and age live football (except Port or Crows) is not shown in this state.

As per PhilH, it's about $$$. Just goes to show how hard Kerry Packer's bid cut into C7's finances. If C9 were not going to get the TV rights, then Packer's goal was to cripple C7 as much as he could if they got the deal.

[Brad]

You sure we can pay for it on Main Event? I thought it was only for NSW & QLD

[Voice]

I just called Foxtel and they said no, it's only provided for NSW/ACT and Queensland.

[Booney]

I just called Foxtel and they said no, it's only provided for NSW/ACT and Queensland.

I stand corrected. I have a vague recollection of being at a mates place sometime ago and watching a FNF game live on Fox. Cheers voice.

[dedja]

The reason is very simple.

Show the game live and ads are limited and hard to schedule obviously because they have to slot in between goals.

Show the game delayed and ads can be slotted in anywhere and as much as they want.

So delayed = $$$$$

Those that complain about the game being delayed will most likely watch it anyway.

[Voice]

I just called Foxtel and they said no, it's only provided for NSW/ACT and Queensland.

I stand corrected. I have a vague recollection of being at a mates place sometime ago and watching a FNF game live on Fox. Cheers voice.

Foxtel staff on the phone can be known to have no idea what they're talking about though, so don't be surprised if someone else calls and gets a completely different answer

[dedja]

I just called Foxtel and they said no, it's only provided for NSW/ACT and Queensland.

I stand corrected. I have a vague recollection of being at a mates place sometime ago and watching a FNF game live on Fox. Cheers voice.

Foxtel staff on the phone can be known to have no idea what they're talking about though, so don't be surprised if someone else calls and gets a completely different answer

It's correct ... those AFL games are only available live in NSW/ACT & QLD, there is no way to get them in Adelaide.

[Interceptor]

Nine will supposedly offer live Friday night games if they get the next rights:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/footy-live-on-channel-nine/story-e6frf9jf-1225830047210

[gadj1976]

Nine will supposedly offer live Friday night games if they get the next rights:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/footy-live-on-channel-nine/story-e6frf9jf-1225830047210

I'll believe it when I see it (intentional pun).

I'm sure they're saying that because we all know that Fox will try and outbid them all and show everything live in every football state.

[Voice]

Nine will supposedly offer live Friday night games if they get the next rights:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/footy-live-on-channel-nine/story-e6frf9jf-1225830047210

I'll believe it when I see it (intentional pun).

I'm sure they're saying that because we all know that Fox will try and outbid them all and show everything live in every football state.

Fox can't outbid anyone. They don't make nearly as much as the commercial stations.

[Wedgie]

I wish Channel 9 would show Friday night Rugby League live here or at least let Foxtel show it. I hate Channel 7 with a passion but at least they let their sport be shown in the lesser popular states on Fox.

PS Boooooooooooo Booney for getting our hopes up!

[Brad]

I wish Channel 9 would show Friday night Rugby League live here or at least let Foxtel show it. I hate Channel 7 with a passion but at least they let their sport be shown in the lesser popular states on Fox.

PS Boooooooooooo Booney for getting our hopes up!

Come to Ceduna Wedgie, Friday night NRL live and the other game straight after, we also get Friday Night AFL Footy at 8:00PM once day light savings ends.

Still crap the networks can't show it live!

[Squawk]

Here's a very good reason why C7 should now reconsider and show Friday night games live - a free kick from the taxpayers to the tune of a 33% rebate in licence fees this year, and 50% rebates next year. No catches either, as they don't have to spend the money on anything in particular.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2820252.htm? Mon 15/2/10

Anger deepens at licence fee rebates for commercial TV networks

MARK COLVIN: There's been no let up in criticism of the Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, a week after he gave the free-to-air TV networks $250-million in licence fee rebate.

Senator Conroy says he gave the companies the hand-out to help them deliver Australian content.

But there's no clause in the deal requiring the networks to spend the money on content of any kind.

Market watchers say much of the cash will go instead towards paying off the big debt bills some of the companies have run up in private equity restructures over the last few years.

And now rival media outlets are lining up for their hand-outs too.

Ashley Hall reports.

ASHLEY HALL: Last week TV companies got a big tax windfall now other media companies want handouts too.

The industry body Commercial Radio Australia is considering hiring the same consultants the TV networks used to build the case for subsidies for them.

And the subscription television industry is fuming that it was left out of the deal.

Petra Buchanan is the chief executive officer of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, known as ASTRA.

She says taxpayers are footing the bill to prop up an outdated business model.

PETRA BUCHANAN: We're not seeing dynamic innovation from free-to-air networks, we're just not seeing them pushing to embrace new technologies, new streams of ways of serving customers and the more they're gifted and given opportunities where they don't have to make those contributions it means less innovation.

And ultimately taxpayers are the ones that lose out in that situation now they're not given the opportunity to have the best possible services.

ASHLEY HALL: A week on from the announcement there's still astonishment at the Federal Government's decision.

PETER COX: It's an outrageous decision to be giving the networks which are amongst our most profitable companies in Australia.

ASHLEY HALL: Peter Cox is a media analyst.

PETER COX: The Government for some absolutely unknown reason is taking this action to help out the overseas investors in the private equity funds that bought into the Australian networks, paid too much and took on too much debt as the result of it.

The actual free-to-air networks are very profitable operations and continue to be very successful business ventures. It's only their gearing, their financial structure that could bring about their destruction.

ASHLEY HALL: TV networks say they have a strong case. They commissioned consultants to show that network licence fees in Australia are higher than those charged overseas. And they stress they've been suffering a downturn in advertising revenue and a loss of audience with the rise of the Internet and a switch to digital television.

The Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says he made the decision to protect the amount of Australian content on commercial television.

But there's no requirement for the TV channels to actually spend any of the rebate money on making local content.

The media analyst Peter Cox says that was a mistake.

PETER COX: Of course it's a mistake. Because then they weren't intending to spend a substantial proportion on it on Australian content and that is why the share market has, why the share market analysts have increased the value of media companies.

Not because they're going to be making more Australian content, but because that money's going to flow through to the bottom line, help to refund those bankers who paid too much money, who borrowed too much money in 2007.

It's going into their pocket. It's not to the advantage of the viewer or the taxpayer that's being asked to fund it.

ASHLEY HALL: Matthew Ricketson is a professor of journalism at the University of Canberra, and a former media and communications editor for The Age newspaper.

He says the Minister's desire to protect Australian content is part of a bigger picture.

MATTHEW RICKETSON: Just around the corner for all of us, is Internet television, which is going to be arriving and in some cases, depending on how technologically adroit you are, has already arrived. Now one of the things we know about the Internet is that it's really hard to regulate, as Stephen Conroy knows only too well just at the moment.

And so if that's coming, and if it's taken up in large measure by Australians, is there going to be Australian content on that Internet TV? Is there a capacity to regulate it and ensure that there is Australian content? Well that's a very, very open question and you'd have to say it's less likely than more likely.

So where does that leave us? That leaves us with the need for there to be local content on our free-to-air networks, on our pay TV networks and so on.

ASHLEY HALL: But Petra Buchanan says that's why the pay-television industry wants a wider review of the rules governing the media.

PETRA BUCHANAN: There should be a holistic review of media policy in this country rather than a very piecemeal approach.

So we really think that from the subscription television standpoint for there to truly be competition and a strong media platform, that we need to look at all of the policies that are currently in play, rather than looking at it singularly.

ASHLEY HALL: A spokeswoman for the Minister Stephen Conroy says the Government is committed to reviewing the future role of licence fees in Australia.

MARK COLVIN: Ashley Hall.

[dedja]

and all it cost Kerry Stokes was a ski holiday ...

[Squawk]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/veil-of-secrey-surrounds-stephen-conroy-and-kerry-stokes-meeting/story-e6frf7jo-1225830058701

Veil of secrey surrounds Stephen Conroy and Kerry Stokes meeting (dated 21 Feb 2010, ie NEXT Sunday - LMAO).

FEDERAL Liberals have called for Stephen Conroy to explain his skiing rendezvous with television chief Kerry Stokes.
The Communications Minister has been labelled "the minister for good times" by the Opposition amid growing pressure over his performance in the portfolio.

The Sunday Herald Sun today reported Senator Conroy went skiing with Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes a month before he handed a $250 million gift to free the TV industry.

And it was revealed last week that a Labor mate got a $450,000 with the National Broadband Network on the recommednation of Senator Conroy.

Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne said Senator Conroy had some explaining to do.

"The actual visit and the skiing with Kerry Stokes is not nearly as important as exactly what is going on with the communications portfolio with this minister," Mr Pyne told the ABC's Insiders program.

"The Minister seems to be the minister for good times.

"He's got a $450,000 job for an old mate in the National Broadband Network.

"A $17 million tender for National Broadband Network which ended up going absolutely nowhere and has just lost money...

"He's given $250 million to the commercial television networks. Now, what we want to know is how did he arrive at that figure?"

"He hasn't yet said how he arrived at the figure, what exactly the money is to be used for, and what guanateees he's received from the commercial networks that it will be used for something that the public will see the benefit (in)."

Mr Conroy and Mr Stokes went skiing together in Vail, Colorado.

Mr Stokes has purchased several properties in Vail's Beaver Creek, including a luxury $15.5 million penthouse.

The meeting came a month before the Victorian-based Senator Conroy cut licence fees paid by Seven, Ten and Nine for the next two years, depriving the Government of about $250 million in revenue.

The decision was controversial because Senator Conroy said it was to protect Australian content - but it included no binding requirement for the networks to spend the money on Australian content.

Instead, it went directly to their bottom line.

Both Mr Stokes and Senator Conroy refused to say what was discussed.

Mr Stokes, through a spokesman, said he had "thoroughly enjoyed" skiing with Senator Conroy.

Senator Conroy confirmed the secret meeting when questioned by the Sunday Herald Sun and said his conduct was "entirely appropriate." He did not mention the pair had gone skiing.

"Last month I visited Colorado on a personal holiday, which was fully paid for by me, including all airfares from Australia to Colorado," Senator Conroy said.

"On one day during this trip I visited Mr Stokes and returned to my accommodation that evening."

Senator Conroy said he regularly met with senior communications stakeholders to discuss matters relevant to his role as Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy.

"These include Mr Stokes and senior representatives of his companies, John Hartigan (News Ltd chairman and CEO), Kim Williams (Foxtel CEO), John Porter (Austar CEO) and David Gyngell (Nine CEO).

"All of my conduct with Mr Stokes and his associates, and all other stakeholders in my portfolio, has been entirely appropriate," he said.

Senator Conroy said he also attended the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the West Coast Australian American Leadership Dialogue while he was in the US.

"I did not meet any representatives of Mr Stokes at either forum," he said.

Seven spokesman Simon Francis said: "Mr Stokes is enjoying his annual holiday at Beaver Creek in the United States, as he does every northern winter. It his own personal time and given that, we don't canvass how he enjoys his holidays.

"But, Mr Stokes says he thoroughly enjoyed his couple of ski runs with Senator Conroy."

Beaver Creek is an exclusive resort in the Colorado Rockies that has some of the finest skiing in America.

Mr Stokes, who owned a property there, made headlines in 2002 when he bought a sumptuous six-bedroom, six-bathroom penthouse for $15.5 million, smashing the previous property price records.

Senator Conroy would not answer questions on whether he'd accepted any hospitality from Mr Stokes.

"Any items that require disclosure will be disclosed under the rules of Parliament," he said.

On February 3, Senator Conroy updated his list of declarable interests, covering the month of January. It makes no mention of any matters involving Mr Stokes.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is a previous recipient of Mr Stokes's hospitality, staying in Mr Stokes's mansion in Broome, WA, last year.

Senator Conroy announced on February 7 that free-to-air providers would pay $250 million less in licence fees over the next two years in order to protect Australian content.

But his decision contained no clause making it compulsory for the networks to spend the money producing Australian content, meaning the money will instead go directly to their bottom lines.

Pay-TV operators, including the biggest broadcaster, Foxtel (which is part-owned by News Ltd, publisher of the Sunday Herald Sun), were unhappy, accusing the Government of giving preferential treatment to the free-to-air operators.

Senator Conroy is already under pressure after recommending his mate, former Queensland Labor MP Mike Kaiser, should get a $450,000-a-year job with NBN Co, the government agency responsible for rolling out the Government's $43 billion national broadband network.

The Government is also under fire over revelations Environment Minister Peter Garrett had been warned 13 times about dangers in the Government's funding of housing insulation.

The flood of money spawned a rise in untrained operators, leading to a spate of house fires and saw the deaths of four young installers.

[Squawk]

and all it cost Kerry Stokes was a ski holiday ...

LOL - I was getting to that bit when you replied!

[dedja]

Mr Conroy and Mr Stokes went skiing together in Vail, Colorado.

Mr Stokes has purchased several properties in Vail's Beaver Creek, including a luxury $15.5 million penthouse.

Both Mr Stokes and Senator Conroy refused to say what was discussed.

Mr Stokes, through a spokesman, said he had "thoroughly enjoyed" skiing with Senator Conroy. ...

Senator Conroy confirmed the secret meeting when questioned by the Sunday Herald Sun and said his conduct was "entirely appropriate." He did not mention the pair had gone skiing. ...

"Last month I visited Colorado on a personal holiday, which was fully paid for by me, including all airfares from Australia to Colorado," Senator Conroy said. ...

"On one day during this trip I visited Mr Stokes and returned to my accommodation that evening." ...

"But, Mr Stokes says he thoroughly enjoyed his couple of ski runs with Senator Conroy." ...

Surely not?

[saintal]

I prefer the 8:30 start. Means that I can usually watch the final quarter or two when I get home. If the game was finished by 10ish I'd miss out. Purely selfish point of view of course.

[fish]

I prefer the 8:30 start. Means that I can usually watch the final quarter or two when I get home. If the game was finished by 10ish I'd miss out. Purely selfish point of view of course.

I'm with you saintal. The 8:30 start gives me time to get the kids off to bed, put a few toys away then sit down with a beer to watch the game. The longer ad breaks also give me time to check Dream Team progress and SANFL scores if there's a game on.

Maybe we should start a facebook page to keep it as a delayed telecast.

[hearts on fire]

yep i love delayed telecast, gives me something to watch later into the night, as there is nothing decent to watch at 10:00pm onwards!