Participant Observations - 16 July, 2023

This is my final post on this blog for the time being, and accordingly, it will cover a range of topics that attempt to bring to an end many of the themes that have been running throughout the blog during its time as a participant observation tool during the research:

Project Wrap

So many emotions on completing the thesis, but mainly relief and pride. I like what I was able to find out and write, and feel the project has integrity. Of course there are always things that you think back about and wish you could have done differently, and there are also other things you would like to research next.

I was also glad with the amount of work that went into it, and I have huge thanks for the people that supported my along the way, especially my supervisors. I think it definitely helped me move on to the next step in my career outside of academia.

It was a shame in some ways that academia is such a shit-show at the moment that I felt I could no longer stay there - I loved the tertiary learning environment and many of the people inside it, but it no longer feels like a place of learning. Rather, it's just a corporatised environment where all performance indicators and decision making is based on making a profit or minimising expenditure.

Since leaving academia, I worked first as Media Manager for Softball Australia. The research helped in the interactions I had with the broadcast environment there, like Kayo and live streaming production, and it also helped with managing others, but I there was also work I had to do in other areas, as I hadn't been exposed to them during my time in the University environment.

After about a year, I then moved into a content creation and media liaison role with AusCycling. I am still involved in working with the media, and my manager is allowing me to increase my exposure to the broadcasting side of the business, which is fantastic. Again, I still have to develop my experience in some areas, but it's a challenge I'm enjoying coming up on a year into the role.

Read the full thesis here.

Industry report

Aside from the thesis, I also wrote an industry report, aimed at the participants, broadcasters, the AFL, and regulators in the sector. I've written a separate blog post about it here, so I won't elaborate too much on it here, other than to again reiterate my thanks to Helen Box who helped refine the report and shape it into it's current form.

Read the blog post and find the report here.

2022 AFL Broadcasting rights deal

The AFL signed their next rights deal not that long after I published my thesis. The deal is more or less an extension of the current deal, with the same broadcast partners over a longer time and with more money. This is in spite of the fact that the AFL reportedly had larger offers from competing parties during the negotiation period.

There are some tweaks that I look forward to seeing, such as Channel 7 games being available for free on the 7+ app, which they currently are not, and I think the broadcast times are being brought forward on Friday nights, which is good for fans. I think there will also be more Thursday night games, but this may mean having no Sunday games on free-to-air television.

There is also more capture of AFL and fan interests by commercial interests. Specifically, I believe that AFL games featuring teams from WA and SA will no longer be live and freely available in those markets on Channel 7. Previously, if the game was produced by Foxtel, the game would still be carried by Channel 7 in those markets. However, Foxtel has pushed hard to have those games made exclusively available behind their paywall.

The AFL also seems to have dropped the ball on having a clear direction for the women's game. Right now, we are 7 weeks out from the start of the AFLW season and there is still no fixture available, and the fixture is one of the key tools the AFL uses to manage their relationship with the broadcasters.

Nonetheless, increasing the size and duration of the deal overall is a positive for the code. It provides significant surety in a continually changing broadcast environment, and again reflects the position of the code in the Australian sporting landscape.

AFL Survey participation

I continue to get emails from the AFL inviting me to participate in data collection on their broadcast and digital coverage, which I love. I was so involved that at one point I was involved in phone conversations about the look and feel of their mobile app and desktop website. They are vastly improved, but there are still elements that are buggy or could be improved further, so it will be interesting to see how they develop over the coming years.

AFLFA survey

Also participated in the 2022 and 2023 AFLFA fan survey. As always, the continuing theme of the results revolve around betting, seating allocations, and access to the grand final. They slowly do seem to be gaining more traction as a relevant organisation that the media and the AFL listen to, and I sent them a copy of my industry report, which hopefully they read.

Articles: The Conversation/MIA/Sociology of Sport

I was fortunate enough to speak to both of the examiners of my thesis, and in the course of those conversations, one suggested I try to get articles published in one or more of the above journals, in case I ever wanted to return to academia, as it would help demonstrate my aptitude and credibility in this area. I have some ideas for articles, but I never have time these days, and am in no rush to move back into working in university anytime soon. If it did happen, it wouldn't be in Newcastle, so may necessitate a move interstate or to a bigger city.

Fin

So this is me signing off for now. I've been meaning to write this final blog post for at least a year, but never got around to it until today. This is also the end of the second phase of the blog itself - the first phase was when I was working at Fox Sports, and kind of used it to dump some of the thoughts and content I generated there, as well as some stuff I wrote while travelling overseas.

What will the third phase be? Will there be a third phase? I must say, while I see the value in blogging or journaling, I can say that it doesn't always come particularly easy to me. I enjoy writing, but I do so much of it through work that I don't really want to spend more time outside of hours doing more of it.

Anyway, from 2016 to now, I wrote 106 blog posts and a bunch of unpublished posts, almost all of which were related to the research project. That is more than I imagined. Thanks to anyone who actually read the posts - they were only for me and the project, and not intended for anyone else, but if you did read it, hope you liked it 😀

Industry Report: Adopting an Innovate Approach to AFL Broadcasting

So I did eventually create an industry report from my research.

The reason fordoing this is because I was always writing in that style anyway, well at least in the early days of the project - I was constantly thinking to myself, "What are the implications of my research for broadcasters and the AFL, and to a lesser degree fans and regulators?" And, "What recommendations do I have for industry based on my research?"

However, my supervisors rightfully said this was not the audience for the thesis, and that an Industry Report would allow me to put these observations and recommendations there, which were not suited to the thesis.

I was also keen to generate the recommendations document because I had said to participants during the process that I would pass on a tailored set of findings to them if they agreed to participate in the project.

After emailing the participants the recommendations report, I also posted it to my LinkedIn profile, where it can hopefully be seen by anyone interested from a relevant audience.

Industry report available here. 

Read the full thesis here.

I also must give incredible thanks to Helen Box who helped turn the industry report into a more easily readable format, that preserves an AFL feel. She also helped me refine the content for this audience.

Participant Observations 17/3/21 - AFL Stats Survey

So last night while browsing twitter, I came across a link to a survey from the AFL, asking for information about the quality of the stats they provide.

I'm not a huge user of AFL stats, but I'm a huge user of the AFL, so I participated in the survey, which took about 15 minutes to complete, and looked mostly into my usage info, such how often I use stats, what types of stats I look at, and on what platforms.

However, what was also interesting were the open ended questions, where they asked for ideas for stats related services. It was kind of hinted at in one of the questions, but here is what I wrote:

  

I'm taking this as a sign that the AFL is looking at how they might be able to monetise user generated content more effectively, and hopefully bringing the ability to link stats to video.

This is actually something one of the participants in my research predicted might happen back in 2017 - that rather than watching a whole game, customised highlights will be sent to your phone that are generated by either another user or an AI algorithm.

I think this opens up some really good ideas, but I also wonder about the possible negative consequences. Like, what if I compile a list of a players clangers, and then share them online and they become viral?

I'm sure there might be ways to get around this, like not coding those instances, but nonetheless, it still indicates to me that the AFL are looking seriously at user generated content, and how to get a piece of it.

Participant Observations 15/3/21 - 2021 Rule Changes

 So a couple of major rule changes this year that I will be watching with interest.

Firstly, the man on the mark rule that prevents the player standing the mark from moving laterally. While it looks a bit awkward, and I don't like the "stand" call by the umpire, I think this is a good move. It essentially takes the defender out of the game, giving a numerical advantage to the team with the ball. It opens up the kicking lanes around the defender, and it frees up other offensive players from having to block the defender on the mark if they wanted to.

It will take some time to adjust, and I think teams will work out how to move the ball quickly, but this is a good rule change.

Something I'm less in favour of is the reduction of interchange rotations to 75. This is designed to fatigue players and open up play, but I think it will increase the number of injuries in the game, and it will also encourage slow play, as teams will look to slow the game down and preserve their energy for the whole game.

I would actually be in favour of going the other way, and making the number of rotations unlimited. However, to prevent the game from turning into a rolling scrum, reduce the number of players on the field to 15, and enforce the holding the ball more. The 6-6-6 rule is fine, especially after goals, but there's no need to have the rule in place for other stoppages. Also throw the ball up quickly at ball-ups and get rid of the need to nominate ruckman. Keep the third-man up penalty however - teams will work out who is contesting the ruck themselves or give away a free kick.

Also, bring the umpire in 10 metres from the boundary on throw-ins, like the AFLW, to get the ball into the corridor.

Unfortunately, I think the man on the mark rule and the 75 rotation cap may actually cancel each other out, which is unfortunate.

Participant Observations 15/03/21 - AFL360

One of the best things about getting Kayo back on is that I now get to watch AFL 360 three nights a week. It's still the best AFL show on television, and I watch episodes on demand if I can't see the live.

My appreciation of Footy Classified grew last year in the absence of being able to watch Kayo, but it's just better in every respect.

There is some sadness that I missed the show last year, and it's the first year I've missed most of the show, but it was affected by COVID obviously.

It's a bit of a shame the show has been reduced to three nights a week, as it used to be four, except on weeks when there was a Thursday night game. Now it's three nights a week regardless of whether there is a Thursday night game or not.

But still the best footy show on TV.

Participant Observations 25/2/21 - Becoming an AFLW Giants Member

Unfortunately, with no Sydney Swans team in the AFLW competition yet, I've had to cross into rival territory and take up a membership with the GWS Giants...

Fortunately, it's an AFLW membership, as this was the best way I could think of to support the AFLW.

It's also a lot cheaper than a full AFL membership (about $360) or country membership (about $120), and on a payment plan it's only about $7 a month.

I also get the benefits of being a member, such as discount merch and sponsor offers, although I don't see myself using the merchandise at all!

It's also encouraging that the Sydney Swans academy women played some games this week, meaning a full AFW side for the Swans is (hopefully) only a few years away.

I'm not sure if I'll go to any Giants AFLW games this year. There are only 5 rounds left I think, and they play away this weak, meaning there are only 4 rounds remining for games at Blacktown.

The Giants have also already played 3 games at home as well, which means they should only get 2 more games at home at best, and as the fixture if fully floating this year, who knows how many there will be.

But going to games was never really the motivation for getting the membership. It was always about finding a way to support women's football, and if I'm serious about doing that, in a neoliberal society I need to put my money where my mouth is.

Participant Observations 5/2/21 - Anti-siphoning expiration

Every few years the anti-siphoning legislation comes up for renewal, and the current version of the legislation is set to expire in April:

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/free-to-air-sport-anti-siphoning-2021-2

This is a potential issue for many problems.

Firstly, as a sports fan, if the scheme isn't renewed, it could see more sport going behind a paywall, which means having to pay more to access the content. Not ideal when you are on a part time wage.

As an academic, this could emaciate Australian culture, as less people have access to sport, which is a large part of our culture.

As a researcher, this is a massive problem for my thesis, because large parts of the data are based on the anti-siphoning scheme, meaning the data will become obsolete if the scheme is abandoned.

Given the neoliberal disposition of the Liberal government, I have no confidence they will renew anti-siphoning, as it’s a market protection. They will also argue that consumers are now comfortable paying for content (i.e., look at the market penetration of Netflix! etc.), and that competition in the market place benefits sports.

Sports organisations are also likely to support the scheme not being renewed, as it allows them to realise true value for their rights.

Ughh...