Triple M and 3AW enter the twilight zone
The Age
Thursday July 30, 2009
THE anger expressed by Triple M and 3AW at being forbidden to call Sunday twilight matches, despite paying the most for AFL radio broadcast rights, will cease to be a headache for the league after this season.The two commercial radio stations have agreed to pay even more for their tier-one licences for 2010 and 2011 in return for the option €” but not obligation €” to broadcast the games.The national broadcaster is the biggest loser out of the AFL's new rights agreement.Currently the 1.10pm and 4.40pm games must be broadcast by the holders of the cheaper tier-two rights, 774 ABC and SEN, although the ABC has the right to broadcast the 2.10pm match if there are no Melbourne teams involved in the early game. But that clause has been scrapped for the new agreement, which will still include SEN. "We didn't have much choice in the end, unfortunately," said Peter Longman, ABC Radio's head of sport.The new agreement maintains the requirement for all matches involving a Victorian team to be broadcast live by at least one radio station.
© 2009 The Age
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