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Miguel Sanchez
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Six Points: Commentary cost-cutting must stop, AFL does Dees dirty, and keep the lid on, Blues fans... for now
It's back - and it was awesome! Men's footy returned with a bang for 2022, with high-scoring, free-flowing footy the order of the day.…www.theroar.com.au
5. No excuse for TV commentary cost-cutting anymore
2020’s COVID pandemic, and the state border closures that ensued, forced TV and radio stations to think outside the box – literally.
For the first time, commentators were forced to call the game off screens in studios half a country away from the action, in so doing losing the feel and vibe of the game only possible to get a sense of live.
Veteran commentator Gerard Whateley spoke to Ashley Browne in his book, AFL 2020: A season like no other, describing the situation as ‘unfulfilling’.
“You were hostage to what was on screen,” Whateley said.
“If it wasn’t on screen you couldn’t call it, you couldn’t pre-empt it, and there was less to work with. It was unfulfilling to be honest.”
Yet two years on, and with no border closures to speak of, Fox Footy look to be regularly choosing to broadcast games with a commentary team based in a Melbourne studio – and it stinks.
It was most apparent in Adelaide’s clash with Fremantle on Sunday afternoon. Say what you will about Kelli Underwood’s commentary, but not even Dennis Cometti could have dealt with that situation and produced his best work. Little wonder Michael Frederick’s wonder goal wasn’t given a call to match.
I can understand the penny-pinching, given the world – and presumably Fox too – are still recovering from the financial hit of the pandemic. But you can’t tell me there aren’t a group of South Australia-based commentators free and willing to step in.
Equally, if Channel Seven can send a full team up to Brisbane to cover their game – and as a side note, Alistair Nicholson made an excellent debut as a TV AFL caller on Saturday night – then the onus is on Fox to do likewise.
To stick with what is currently being served up is an insult to fans of interstate clubs, who deserve to have their games brought to them with the same quality and devotion to coverage as Melbourne fans get.
I’ve never heard of Tim Miller in my life, but he makes a series of great points in that article.