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Before the Game moving to Thursdays

Update: Before the Game is moving from Saturdays to Thursdays, including back on TEN in Adelaide and Perth.

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TEN is set to move Before the Game from Saturdays to Thursdays, to screen at 8:30pm before Nine’s long-running Footy Show.

The Herald Sun reports the switch will take place from mid-June.

TEN is hoping it will lift its Thursday audiences in Melbourne and potentially stop viewers from switching to The Footy Show at 9:30pm. But die-hard AFL fans are likely to sample both shows.

A bigger concern will be for The Marngrook Footy Show currently screening on ABC2 at 8:30. Last night it had 63,000 viewers and those numbers could be hit hard by the popularity of TEN’s family-friendly AFL show.

Given Before the Game uses the same studio space as The Project it’s also going to be hell for crews, to turn around sets with just 90 minutes between two live shows.

UPDATE: BTG on TEN in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth at 8:30pm and in Sydney and Brisbane on ONE at 10:30pm from Thursday June 21.

17 Responses

  2. This could be a good move. But hopefully they allocate the budget from game plan to btg so it can have a higher production value if it is going prime time during the week. Having it previewing afl games on seven afl on a sat night seemed a bit strange to me. Personally I would have loved to see it on a Sunday or Monday night and call it ‘after the game’ as a review of the round.

  3. Another stupid decision from the idiots at Ten.

    I loved sitting back on a Saturday night and have a laugh or two with the BTG panel and then switch over to Seven for the footy or ABC for whatever crime series they had on.

    It’ll die a quick death on Thursdays because many football players train on that night.

    They stuffed up Young Talent Time and now they are going to stuff up this show.

    I think Lachlan Murdoch hasn’t learnt anything from his disastrous OneTel experience.

    And Gina Reinhardt just wants to replace all shows on Ten with her boyfriend Andrew Bolt!

  4. So it’s not the network at all and just local station ATV Melbourne doing this?

    What will the rest of the network air Thursdays 8.30?

    Why not air “Before the Game” Thurs 8.30 in AFL states and an NRL version in the NRL states?

  5. I wish Ten would put this on the main channel in Adelaide too. i don’t understand the reasoning with just Melbourne. Adelaide and Perth would watch too. And i always forget it’s on because it’s on ONE. Would watch every week on Ten.

  6. I like this idea – and they’d do well to keep it on TEN rather than ONE in the other AFL States at least. It will be the family-friendly thinking-person’s alternative to the Footy Show.

  7. Hmmm.. the name wont be as valid as it once was then, as whilst it will still be before the game, it won’t be immediately before it any longer.

    Also, bit of a bummer too as various guests probably wont be able to do both shows now since they’re on the same day.

  10. @Bogues: Another logical option for Ten, is to move the Game Plan (NRL) to the main channel in it’s current slot (with BTG on One live), to avoid putting NCIS reruns or something, on in Syd/Bris.

    Surely, if more people were exposed to the NRL Game Plan, it could give the NRL Footy Show, a wakeup call, although, a move like I mentioned for BTG in NRL states, could also potentially force Nine’s hand to air the AFL Footy Show live into Syd/Bris on GEM or GO!.

  12. Don’t forgot The Game Plan airs on ONE at 8.30pm as well. It would be odd having 2 AFL related shows going head to head on the same network…

  15. @ScooterMelbourne…I dont think it is a bad idea at all.
    It was misplaced on their Saturday Night lineup.

    With no footy it was being missed to the total volume of people it should have watching it.

    Actually what they have done is what ch7 should have done (got this show when ch10 lost the rights, and moved it to 8.30 Thursdays). This show has the respect from viewers to pull it off (unlike previous Ch7 attempts & failures).

  16. What does this mean for The Game Plan. Currently the AFL versions screens live in AFL states at 8:30pm Tuesday (probably delayed in Adl and Perth). Surely Ten wouldn’t be silly enough to put two AFL shows on different channels at the same time?

    And in NRL states, The Game Plan (NRL) screens at 8:30pm.I hope they don’t scrap that so we can see an AFL show instead.

    I guess the logical option would be to move The Game Plan to screen at 7:30pm or 8:30pm on Wednesday.

    The NRL Game Plan is such a better show than the rubbish that Nine serve up in The Footy Show

  17. I think this is such a bad idea. Haven’t ch 10 learnt not to move shows that are doing well around the schedule.
    It rates well and is a nice saturday evening show!
    I dont really see the point in this move!
    The main point of difference BTG had was their ability to discuss and analyze the Friday night and Saturday day games in a entertaining and light hearted way!
    It will be interesting to see how the audience takes to 2 footy shows on the 1 night.

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