SBS downplays reports it will scale back football coverage
Multicultural public broadcaster SBS has downplayed suggestions it is considering a dramatic reduction in its football coverage, insisting it remains “committed” to the sport.
But the public broadcaster stopped short of categorically denying Fairfax Media reports that talks had taken place with other free-to-air networks about offloading its rights to screen A-League matches for the next two seasons.
Reports in The Age said SBS’s content division had identified football as being expendable, with coverage of the sport likely to be scaled back.
While the network has the rights to broadcast one live A-League match each week until 2016/17, “tentative discussions” have opened on relinquishing its coverage, the newspaper reported.
Hopefully the ABC doesn’t do what they did with the Asian Cup and outbid a fellow public broadcaster…AGAIN.
*re Champions League
Hang about! What on earth will the Soccer Broadcasting Service show if not . . . soccer?
Nothing new here, it’s been scaling back it’s football coverage for the last 10 years. That 6 hour football highlights, discussion and analysis show ‘The World Game’ on sunday afternoon in the early 2000’s went all the way down to a half hour slot on monday night before they canned it due to lack of interest…Once Les Murray retired it was always going to drop football altogether.