Football Fans Find The Abc Wherever They Are

The Age

Wednesday August 16, 2006

JORDAN CHONG

ABC Radio received more than 2000 text messages from football fans in outback towns, on fishing boats and overseas when it asked for a show of support for the broadcaster's bid for an AFL broadcast licence next year.

With AFL radio rights negotiations for 2007 and beyond continuing, the ABC fears its tight budget will restrict it in winning calling rights for high-profile matches or it may miss out completely.

Last weekend, commentators called on listeners to vote with their phones, attracting 2000-plus text messages from as far off as a fishing boat in the Gulf of Carpentaria, remote communities in Arnhem Land, New Norfolk, Katherine, Buln Buln, Humpty Doo, Belvidere (population 35), Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Beijing, Riyadh, Moscow and Papua New Guinea.

National editor of ABC Radio sport, Peter Longman, said it was gratifying to know people were tuning in to the coverage "from all points of the compass".

"We got a huge response. It just emphasises the broad sweep of geography we take our coverage to," he said yesterday. "That's one of our strengths, obviously - our reach, both nationally and internationally."

The ABC - through its nine metropolitan and 51 regional stations, overseas service Radio Australia and Newsradio - has a network few commercial stations can match.

Longman said discussions with the league were continuing and he hoped football fans would have the ABC as a choice in 2007. "We are in the middle of negotiations at the moment, so we are hopeful of a good result," he said.

"People enjoy different styles of AFL coverage. You might be a Rex (Hunt) fan, you might be Brian Taylor fan, you might be an ABC fan.

"It would be a pity if people couldn't (have a choice) in the way they want to get their footy."

Longman said the ABC would reject any attempt to control its coverage of the game, his comments coming in the wake of the AFL's criticism of game commentary and its tentative proposal to regulate game calling.

"Our editorial guidelines would never allow anybody, whether it be sporting, political or whatever, to influence how we cover an event," Longman said.

"Cricket Australia wouldn't do it, the National Rugby League wouldn't do it and if they did, we'd quickly dismiss any pressure on us to provide a coverage in a certain style.

"Our callers call it as they see it. I think listeners can spot commentators trying to fake calling a bad game a good game."

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