DARREN MONCRIEFF
Saturday, August 6, 2011
PEOPLE in remote and regional areas could miss out on live State football following the breakdown of talks between the ABC and the top three leagues in Australia.
The national broadcaster has put discussions between it and the SANFL, VFL and WAFL on hold for a new three-year broadcast deal.
The current broadcast arrangement for each of the State leagues ends at the conclusion of the 2011 season.
Match-day coverage is produced locally but cuts to ABC staff numbers has led to a huge loss in key personnel; a reduction from nine to two staff at ABC TV Sports Perth office is reportedly just weeks away.
WA football director Grant Dorrington said live WAFL coverage rates highly in regional areas. A rating survey revealed a Saturday afternoon match attracts on average 125,000 viewers in WA.
Ending the live coverage would have a domino effect in several areas, notably in promotion of grassroots football.
Some of the game's influential players have come from the country; a regular diet of league football on TV no doubt inspiring them as youngsters to greater heights.
WA Minister for Sport Terry Waldron urged the ABC to continue to provide live coverage of football.
"Obviously, it is not my decision to make but I would urge those making the programming decisions at the ABC to be aware of the importance and cultural value of coverage of the WAFL across WA," Waldron said.
"There is a real value across the community but particularly in regional areas where the coverage has long been part of the fabric of country life.
"Many players come from regional areas and the televised coverage has a particularly strong following."
An ABC spokesman said a review of the situation will be made from Sydney, where all decisions affecting local programming are handled.
The ABC delighted hard-core football fans when late in 2006 it began replaying the match-of-the-round from the SANFL, VFL, WAFL, and later the NTFL, nation-wide on ABC2 which, at the time, was its only digital channel.
But the taxpayer-funded organisation enraged those same fans when without notice it stopped those mid-week, late-night replays in early 2008.
Pleas and petitions failed to force change despite it since adding three more digital channels to its service: ABC3, ABC2/4 and ABC News 24.
Replays are now carried on the ABC's iView site.
The ABC has televised football in Western Australia for almost 40 years.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 07/08/2011 11:57