SBS director of sport warns it could become victim of its own success over A-League coverage with networks ‘lurking in the wings’
SBS could become a “victim of its own success” if it can generate large audiences on its main channel for A-League football and pull in solid advertising revenue, the broadcaster’s director of sport has warned.
Ken Shipp has predicted that free-to-air networks will be circling when the next round of negotiations begin for the A-League should the 2014/15 season prove to be a success for SBS.
The incumbents – SBS, Foxtel and Fox Sports – are entering the second year of a four-deal to broadcast the A-League with negotiations for the rights from 2017/18 likely to start next year.
SBS announced yesterday that it will switch its one live match per round from SBS Two to SBS One when the new season kicks off in October. The decision followed talks between SBS and Football Federation Australia (FFA) which, unsurprisingly, has always been keen to see SBS broadcast matches on its main channel.
Got to love the spin given every report this week says FFA forced SBS to punt the football from SBS 2 to SBS 1.
Is it just me, or does Ken Shipp look like a combination of Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes and Masterchef’s Gary Mehigan, (with glasses)?
(Sorry, but he really does!) 🙂
If Ten had the A League it could build a very interesting network. Football will only grow in this country and heaps of young women play it at school. It could help reshape a lot of Ten’s other very bogan focus too. You could have a Sunday football review to replace Andrew Bolt!
In a word … No.
In three words … It’s just you.