Me thinks Eddie can't think about what is best for all football fans, not just Victorian footy fans. Besides this article is interesting, even from a Victorian perspective:Herald Sun wrote:TV call hurting Vic fans
11 August 2005 Herald Sun
Damian Barrett
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/ ... 42,00.html
EDDIE McGuire says Channel 10's controversial decision to snub Saturday night's Collingwood-Carlton match was an affront to Victorian football followers, not just fans of the competing teams.
McGuire said regardless of ladder positions, Ten should not have contributed to the erosion of the "branding of football in this town".
The AFL's free-to-air Saturday night station has opted to broadcast the Adelaide derby nationally, leaving Fox Footy to cover the Magpies-Blues match.
"This is not a matter of me being Collingwood president. You asked me the question and I answer it this way. Is it better to have Port Adelaide and Adelaide in the Melbourne market? I say no," McGuire said yesterday.
"I think it's bad for the branding of football in this town and I am very concerned about the branding of football in this town.
"I see constant erosion of it. It won't hit in the next five minutes; it will hit in the next five years."
McGuire said Ten's decision had the potential to send the wrong message about Victorian football.
"You just have to start telling people Collingwood-Carlton games aren't important and they will start believing it," McGuire said.
"And we will start to get Bulldogs versus North Melbourne crowds. The passion will leave and that is disappointing."
Ten's head of football David Barham said last night his network knew it had made the right call in opting for the national outlook.
"We're really happy with our decision, really happy," Barham said. "It was a hard decision to make, no doubt.
"But we are a national broadcaster and I believe more people in Victoria want to see a good game between two teams that can make the finals."
McGuire said Ten had misread the Victorian football market.
"It's up to them. If they want to do it, good luck to them. We've had the discussion, but I just reckon there is more interest in the Collingwood-Carlton game in this town," he said.
"How many back-page leads have you seen this week about Port Adelaide and Adelaide?
"We are all over the papers today. This thing (Peter MacCallum breakfast) here today, everyone will be talking about it; there will be 40-50,000 at the game; the back-page and front-page sports stories on Monday will be Collingwood-Carlton.
"But people in this town won't be able to see it unless they have got Foxtel."
Barham refuted McGuire's claim that Victorian football branding was being belted.
"He's president of Collingwood. He's a great president. Good on him, he speaks from a Collingwood perspective, I reckon," Barham said.
"I think he is downplaying the power of Victorian football.
"It will always be strong, always be popular in Victoria."
Would you prefer to watch cellar dwellers Collingwood vs Carlton or Port Adelaide vs Adelaide in a showdown that will determine Port's chances of making finals in 2005?The Age wrote:Pies rating poorly: Ten
By Lyall Johnson
August 11, 2005
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/real ... 84564.html
Network Ten yesterday backed up its decision to televise the Adelaide-Port Adelaide showdown on Saturday night — ahead of the traditional heavyweight clash between Collingwood and Carlton — by saying recent Collingwood matches have rated poorly.
In response to comments yesterday by Magpies president Eddie McGuire and Carlton president Ian Collins that the match should be televised free-to-air rather than on Fox Footy, Network Ten's executive producer of football, David Barham, said Collingwood's past two Friday night games — against St Kilda and Essendon — had been the lowest and fifth-lowest rating Friday night games this year.
Barham said the decision had been a "nightmare" to make but one that was finalised six weeks ago when the network assessed the round could be the one to decide Port Adelaide's fate for the year.
"We're very happy with our decision and we believe football fans in Victoria are interested in watching the best teams play and that the Port Adelaide-Adelaide game has massive consequences on the finals this week and that generally football fans are more interested in that game than Carlton-Collingwood," Barham said.
Pull your head in Ed, the AFL is bigger than the Collingwood football club and Victoria.
