TV COVERAGE IN VICTORIA

[Maccattack]

Roy Masters was on ABC TV today complaining about the lack of coverage here in Melbourne for NRL games.  None of the finals have been screened pre midnight despite channel nines obligations to the sport it has rights to.

As Masters put it, Victorian Rugby League fans are 'disenfranchised'.  He went on to explain the reasons why channel nine fail to screen any NRL game before midnight but his explanation confused me.

I just returned from 2 days in Sydney and it appears to me that the AFL get a fair amount of coverage there.  A fair go you might say. Why not the same down here for the NRL?

Is it time for a petition to the TV bosses?  Would this make a difference?

[Thunderstruck]

For 10 years we fought for this in every way you can think of ranging from extremely polite to extremely rude, from privately to publicly. For 10 years it never really eventuated.

[lotti]

don't think anything will make a difference, it's always been like that even before we got a team.

[Bourbon Rat]

Is it time for a petition to the TV bosses?  Would this make a difference?

The people at Nine really don't give a shit !!
Nine Sydney have a piss weak deal from Gallop that allows them to dictate their own terms.
They say "It's up to Nine Melbourne's Sports dept to set viewing times".
Nine Melbourne & Eddie everywhere are seriously anti RL.

SIMPLE AS THAT !

[Maccattack]

Why do you say he is anti RL? 

What has been done to date to try to increase the coverage?

Why is it that VRF gets a fair go in Sydney in Brisbane but RL doesnt in Melbourne?  What are they afraid of?

[lotti]

9 doesn't have the AFL coverage anymore but since they don't want to take any ratings away from the AFL and what ever is on 10 during the season they put on crap movies instead.

[Maccattack]

This is incredible.  Ive watched the news every night this week and not heard a scrap about the storm or the NRL finals.

Something has to be done.

Ive only been in Melbourne a month so dont know what action has been taken to date so could somebody please fill me in as to

a) why no coverage?

b) whats been done to improve it?

[lotti]

of course there's no coverage, Victoria is AFL mad, most of the AFL teams are based here, most league fans down here if they can afford it have a little thing known as pay tv because at least Fox Sports shows the NRL.  9 does occassionly show league down here at a reasonable time but that's only if it's a Storm final or it's a rep game or we make heaps of noise about it.

[Bourbon Rat]

Why do you say he is anti RL? 

What has been done to date to try to increase the coverage?

Why is it that VRF gets a fair go in Sydney in Brisbane but RL doesnt in Melbourne?  What are they afraid of?

V R F has a wider appeal 

[lotti]

Eddie is also the president of an AFL club known as Collingwood unless he's been sacked from that position, Eddie is also involved with the other Footy Show which I don't watch because of Eddie, a few of the other people on it and the fact it's the AFL footy show.

[TC]

This is incredible.  Ive watched the news every night this week and not heard a scrap about the storm or the NRL finals.

Something has to be done.

Ive only been in Melbourne a month so dont know what action has been taken to date so could somebody please fill me in as to

a) why no coverage?

b) whats been done to improve it?

a) Les Downs, the head of GTV nein sport despises RL.  Eddie has vested interest in the AFL. GTV Nein are not concerned about any market outside Melbourne and they feel the be-all and end-all of TV sport is AFL. Tennis and cricket are nice topups, but nothing beats "footy". The well worn argument is "it doesn't rate" yet every SOO, GF and even live Storm game in the past 5 years has won its timeslot.

b) We've tried. Everything we can think of. And I do mean everything.
Petitions. Letters and emails (nice, terse and abusive) to Nein, the NRL, newspapers, TV. Calls to talkback radio. We've talked to ministers, ombudsmen, lawyers and judges stating our case and seeking advice. We've been on the phone to pollies. We've asked the governor, begged the Minister for Sport. We have plastered internet forums. We've written complaints to the game's major sponsors and even supported Fox's campaign against the anti syphoning laws. We've even tried to get people to boycott channel Nein. If you've got any ideas, let us know cos we're flat out. Mate we have spent ten years campaigning and some of us who were League fans pre-Storm have been doing it much longer than that.

[Maccattack]

Thats certainly a lot of work.  But lets not give up yet.

How about a simultaneous protest outside channel nine studios in Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane?