It's been over a month since I posted anything, and even though there is no actually football happening, I thought it would still be worth providing an update.
Firstly, it appears the AFL is very close to announcing a plan to return to football, with either hubs of six teams or one hub of 18 teams the most likely options.
I'm really conflicted about this. On the one hand, I'm obviously super excited for the football to return. The weekends are so boring without it, and I miss all the usual discussion and news that comes with it. I miss playing it, and I miss being able to talk about it and watch it with friends and family. The game also need to get going so it can get some revenue coming into the game from sponsors and broadcasters. I think it also gives the community something to be distracted by.
On the other hand, I'm apprehensive because it may send the wrong message to the community about the need to remain vigilant during the crisis. It may put the health and safety of some players at risk. And it may draw important resources away from the community, such as medical staff and testing kits.
On the whole, I'd be in favour of the game returning, provided that the health authorities and government approve it, and it can be done without compromising resources for the community.
Otherwise, the crisis has shown how heavily the industry relies on revenues from broadcasting to sustain itself. Staff and players have taken extraordinary pay cuts, and a number of media organisations, such as crocmedia, are teetering on insolvency and voluntary administration due to the loss of revenues with no games being shown.
It has worsened the prospects of Kayo, which relied extensively on live sport to attract customers. It has starved Channel 7 and Foxtel of revenues from advertising and subscriptions.
It has tightened the bond between the code and incumbent broadcasters, with the code looking to renew its existing deals as soon as possible. I find that interesting, because the emergent media platforms have actually improved their business position during the crisis, and would seem to have better long term prospects, and appear to be a better broadcast partner accordingly. I guess better the devil you know...
Some comments also on my viewing habits during the crisis. Firstly, I've taken to watching a lot of old Swans games on weekends, especially from 86 & 87, when I remember the dominant Swans teams of my childhood. I'm also seeking out highlight packages of particular players and moments I remember as well. YouTube has turned into a godsend.
A friend and I hatched a plan to watch a game together while on video chat. It was the 1989 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Geelong. They wanted to watch it, and fortunately the whole game is online, albeit with commentary from 3AW radio. It was awesome. There's a few issues, like not hearing all of the comms and trying to match up the vision so we're both watching the same thing at the same time, but overall it was awesome.
I'm also playing a lot more video games during the crisis. I've finished Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and I've almost finished Half Life 2. I've been playing AFL Evolution as well, and while they've released AFL Evo 2, it's not available on PC yet unfortunately.
I'm also watching lots of television as well. I've re-watched Westworld, finished Devs and Curb Your Enthusiasm on Foxtel, watched The Test on Amazon, and watched a bunch of stuff on Netflix as well. There's still plenty of stuff to get through, which is good. Not sure how much longer I will keep the Foxtel subscription however - Westworld has two episodes left in season 3, so as soon as that is over, I will probably get rid of the service. They announced that it's been renewed for another season, but it took two years for season 3 to land...
