The AFL is reportedly disappointed with Channel 7's coverage of the game after cost-cutting measures during the coronavirus pandemic, as rival broadcasters circle to obtain rights from 2025 onwards.
Speaking on Channel 9's Footy Classified program, former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon raised concerns over the host broadcaster's coverage - specifically the lack of footy shows after the axing of Game Day and Talking Footy, regular fixtures pre-covid.
“It’s more than the broadcasting of the game, I love the shows wrapped around it,” he said on Footy Classified.
“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.”
Fellow panel member Caroline Wilson echoed those sentiments, revealing that some at AFL house were disappointed by the lack of programs outside of the regular footy 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 explained.
“There is a frustration with some of Seven’s coverage from AFL headquarters, we know that.”
A minimum of three games are shown on free-to-air television under the AFL's current broadcasting agreement, with all finals matches also shown through Channel 7 and subscription-based broadcasting platforms such as Foxtel and Kayo.
“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,” Kane Cornes added.
“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.”
Recent reports from The Age surrounding the new broadcast deal suggest that Network Ten and partner Paramount Plus will make a bid for the entirety of the broadcasting rights from the end of 2024, planning on splitting the nine home and away games between free-to-air broadcasts and online streaming.
AFL boss Gillion McLachlan flew to the US earlier in the week alongside Travis Auld and Andrew Dillon to meet with prospective American bidders, with Amazon also reportedly showing interest.