AFL unhappy with Channel 7 over 'strange' broadcast 'mistake'

AFL bosses are reportedly unhappy with Channel 7's coverage of the sport after the network axed talk shows Game Day and Talking Footy this year.

Channel 7 owns the exclusive free-to-air broadcast rights for the AFL until 2024, however a recent report in The Age revealed that Network Ten could be looking to swoop in and make a bid alongside streaming partner Paramount Plus.

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And if recent reports are anything to go by, Channel 7's stranglehold over the rights might not be assured.

Speaking on Footy Classified on Channel Nine this week, former Fremantle and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon questioned Seven's coverage.

Seven is believed to have axed Game Day and Talking Footy because of financial constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s more than the broadcasting of the game, I love the shows wrapped around it,” Lyon said.

“I love the Sunday morning football shows, I get a wrap of the whole round ... we haven’t got that on Seven.

"I don’t see the investment wrapped around the game, personally.

“You have Wayne Carey, Leigh Matthews and Tim Watson, but you don’t hear them in a show carving and diving deeper.”

Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson said AFL bosses aren't happy with the coverage.

“There was definitely disappointment at AFL HQ when Seven, who did have a Sunday morning show and did have a Monday night show, dumped those shows during Covid for financial reasons,” she said.

“There is a frustration with some of Seven’s coverage from AFL headquarters, we know that.”

Fellow journalist Sam McClure added: “I think there was disappointment when Seven decided - albeit in really tough times - to lose shows like Game Day and Talking Footy, which help provide fans with a different look of the game.”

Kane Cornes questions Channel 7 'mistake'

Speaking on SEN radio in Adelaide, former Port Power star Kane Cornes said he believed Channel 7 had made a "mistake".

“The fact they don’t have shows like Game Day on a Sunday morning and like Talking Footy on a Monday night is a strange call for me,” he said.

“The host broadcaster should be dominating the weekly schedule.

“Foxtel are doing that, Channel 9 have three shows, and the host broadcaster doesn’t have one.

“I think that has been a mistake for them and you lose that analysis in and around the games.”

Departing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, broadcast boss Travis Auld and the AFL's general counsel Andrew Dillon reportedly travelled to to the United States recently to meet with streaming services Paramount, Amazon and YouTube.

Seven and Ten shared the broadcast rights between 2007 and 2011.

Channel Ten and Paramount Plus recently secured the TV rights for the A-League in a five-year, $200 million deal.

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