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This is good ammo for Charlie, Barry etc who do battle with the ferals on Big Footy
Sydney pours $100m into AFL purse
By Greg Denham and Jenny McAsey
June 05, 2003
SYDNEY's importance to the financial viability of the AFL was brought into stark reality yesterday when an expert media analyst said the Swans added at least $100 million over five years to the game's broadcast rights.
And Sydney gained backing in their plea for an immediate financial injection of up to $2 m to keep the club afloat when the Nine and Ten networks, which have exclusive free-to-air television rights until the end of 2006, urged the AFL to support the club's request.
Nine's Melbourne general manager Ian Johnson said the Swans were vital to future broadcast deals, which underpin the AFL.
"Television rights would be at real risk if Sydney fell over, whether the competition remained at 16 clubs or not," Johnson said.
The AFL also made it clear the Sydney market was a key factor in its ability to attract big corporate sponsorships.
On Tuesday, Sydney chairman Richard Colless said his club needed a minimum of $1.5 m to be able to trade past October and described the club's finances as being in a "genuinely life-threatening" situation.
Although some clubs have expressed concern about a special payment to Sydney, Harold Mitchell, of Mitchell and Partners, Australia's leading media buying agency, emphasised yesterday how much money Sydney was worth to the competition.
Mitchell believes the Swans' presence in Sydney contributed about 20 per cent of the AFL's current $500 m five-year television broadcast rights deal.
"When Sydney is doing well on-field, as they are now, they directly and indirectly rep resent about $100 m of the broadcast deal," Mitchell said.
"But their potential is even bigger and when they are flying and become a force again, that figure can jump to 35 per cent."
Mitchell's opinion is backed by the fact the AFL's biggest grand final ratings figures were in 1996 when Sydney played North Melbourne, one of Victoria's least-supported clubs.
"The Swans are an enormously valuable product and have the potential to be a gold mine," Mitchell said. "The AFL needs to ensure their long-term success."
Ten's ratings for Swans games in Sydney are up by 35 per cent in the past six weeks when they have won five of their six games.
AFL general manager of commercial operations, Ben Buckley, said the league's ability to lure large corporate sponsors, particularly national brands, would become more difficult without a presence in Sydney.
"Sydney is the biggest consumer market in the country where 60 per cent of corporate marketing dollars come from," Buckley said.
Without the Swans, AFL major sponsorships CUB, NAB, Coca-Cola, Simpson, Wizard Home Loans and Qantas could be placed in jeopardy.
The Sydney players were unfazed by the off-field financial drama as they prepared for their match with Essendon at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night.
Captain Stuart Maxfield said the team had been told of the club's financial woes at the start of the season but no-one had been asked to take pay cuts.
"If it did come to that, it would certainly be a collective decision," Maxfield said.
"I have faith in the administration process at the club and I'm sure they'll be able to work it out."
Sydney pours $100m into AFL purse
By Greg Denham and Jenny McAsey
June 05, 2003
SYDNEY's importance to the financial viability of the AFL was brought into stark reality yesterday when an expert media analyst said the Swans added at least $100 million over five years to the game's broadcast rights.
And Sydney gained backing in their plea for an immediate financial injection of up to $2 m to keep the club afloat when the Nine and Ten networks, which have exclusive free-to-air television rights until the end of 2006, urged the AFL to support the club's request.
Nine's Melbourne general manager Ian Johnson said the Swans were vital to future broadcast deals, which underpin the AFL.
"Television rights would be at real risk if Sydney fell over, whether the competition remained at 16 clubs or not," Johnson said.
The AFL also made it clear the Sydney market was a key factor in its ability to attract big corporate sponsorships.
On Tuesday, Sydney chairman Richard Colless said his club needed a minimum of $1.5 m to be able to trade past October and described the club's finances as being in a "genuinely life-threatening" situation.
Although some clubs have expressed concern about a special payment to Sydney, Harold Mitchell, of Mitchell and Partners, Australia's leading media buying agency, emphasised yesterday how much money Sydney was worth to the competition.
Mitchell believes the Swans' presence in Sydney contributed about 20 per cent of the AFL's current $500 m five-year television broadcast rights deal.
"When Sydney is doing well on-field, as they are now, they directly and indirectly rep resent about $100 m of the broadcast deal," Mitchell said.
"But their potential is even bigger and when they are flying and become a force again, that figure can jump to 35 per cent."
Mitchell's opinion is backed by the fact the AFL's biggest grand final ratings figures were in 1996 when Sydney played North Melbourne, one of Victoria's least-supported clubs.
"The Swans are an enormously valuable product and have the potential to be a gold mine," Mitchell said. "The AFL needs to ensure their long-term success."
Ten's ratings for Swans games in Sydney are up by 35 per cent in the past six weeks when they have won five of their six games.
AFL general manager of commercial operations, Ben Buckley, said the league's ability to lure large corporate sponsors, particularly national brands, would become more difficult without a presence in Sydney.
"Sydney is the biggest consumer market in the country where 60 per cent of corporate marketing dollars come from," Buckley said.
Without the Swans, AFL major sponsorships CUB, NAB, Coca-Cola, Simpson, Wizard Home Loans and Qantas could be placed in jeopardy.
The Sydney players were unfazed by the off-field financial drama as they prepared for their match with Essendon at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night.
Captain Stuart Maxfield said the team had been told of the club's financial woes at the start of the season but no-one had been asked to take pay cuts.
"If it did come to that, it would certainly be a collective decision," Maxfield said.
"I have faith in the administration process at the club and I'm sure they'll be able to work it out."
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