Toughest job in TV: Seven’s sport boss Chris Jones on the AFL challenge
On the eve of the AFL regular season kick off, Seven’s director of sport Chris Jones speaks to James Manning and refuses to rule out a play for some NRL rights.
Chris Jones
Seven’s director of sport Chris Jones is making it home just in time for the AFL curtain raiser on Thursday night, flying into Sydney aboard the NRL’s chartered Qantas flight direct from Las Vegas.
Seven’s first game of the regular AFL Home and Away season is a critical broadcast for Seven and its new owners, SCA. The Sydney Swans v Carlton SCG clash signals the start of a new season (despite the AFL State of Origin clash in Perth mid-February) and the beginning of Jones’ big challenge.
He is tasked with arguably the toughest job in television: making sure Seven, its commercial partners and ultimately the audience get the most out of Seven’s massive investment in AFL rights. As Mumbrella pointed out recently, it’s the most expensive piece of content shown on TV in Australia.
