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A-League to shift to SBS ONE

SBS is set to shift Live A-League to SBS ONE in October, with a simulcast in High Definition.

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2014-08-14_1041SBS is set to shift Live A-League from SBS 2 to SBS ONE when the 10 year anniversary season kicks off in October.

Fans can also see the games simulcast in high definition on SBS HD.

SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said; “Moving the Hyundai A-League to SBS ONE capitalises on our momentum from the World Cup and signals our increased commitment to and confidence in growing this great game which unites communities across so many cultures.”

SBS Director of Sport, Ken Shipp said; “Bringing the Hyundai A-League to free-to air audiences for the first time in 2013 was an important step forward for SBS and the game. The immense success of our 2014 FIFA World Cup coverage on SBS ONE shows there is an incredible thirst for football in Australia.”

FFA CEO David Gallop said; “The move of A-League broadcasts to SBS ONE is sign of SBS’s commitment to the game and underlines the booming popularity of the A-League.

“This is a pivotal move for Australian football and reflects the game’s vibrant role in the mainstream of our society.”

“On behalf of the Australian football community, I commend SBS for this initiative.”

The move follows the success of the FIFA World Cup for SBS with the Socceroos’ opening group match scoring 2.28 million viewers (metro + regional), making it the 5th highest rating individual program of all time for SBS.

Live A-League games will broadcast at 7.30pm (AEDT) from October 10.

10 Responses

  1. And on delay, not live to QLD/SA/NT/WA as well?
    Can’t they screen live sport on the HD channel in those states with the delayed coverage staying on SBS1?

  2. it was good to see SBS use its digital channel last season to hope encourage people watching SBS2, but sadly, this flopped. Barring the Grand Final and I think the first two rounds, nothing much else rated that well for sbs2 during the A-League season.

    With the “help” by FFA, I think that the move to SBS1 is a good move. It should have more eyeballs watching.

  4. I noticed they put a match on SBS1 last season to somehow compete with Big Bash cricket running at the same time. SBS and the FFA underestimated the Big Bash and after the big ratings the cricket got last summer its no surprise A-league matches are moving to the primary channel. I don’t think it’ll rate better than the 85k to 100k it was last season whilst the cricket is getting 700k to 1m.

  5. Probably more a recognition that moving the HD channel back and forth between SBS1 and 2 caused problems. And SBS1 & 2’s ratings are so low on Friday evenings in summer that it doesn’t really matter.

    It will boost the ratings a bit because the games will be more visible on SBS1 and they won’t have SBS1 stealing viewers away from the game. The GF may have rated 233k for SBS2 but many of the regular games rated hardly anything.

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