There have already been a few reviews on the Fox Sports coverage of the AFL Draft. To say reviews were mixed would be kind. Rather than point out what went wrong, here is the Sports Geek suggestions for AFL Draft 2011 (which by the way will be a tough cover with every 2nd pick going to the Gold Coast).
- Lose the reverse order top 10 announcements – It doesn’t “build anticipation” when most question marks on picks start at 7 or 8 but you announce pick 10 first.
- Move to a bigger venue – I would hold the draft at a venue like Rod Laver Arena, tickets could be sold to fans and make the draft an entertaining night.
- Let Andrew Demetriou announce all picks - Following the NBA & NFL model, apologies to recruiting managers in the future you will submit your picks in allocated time to be read out by AFL CEO who would then greet and congratulate each pick.
- Slow down – Allow the broadcasters some time to report on and analyze the picks. The pace was furious making it hard for TV producers and web producers alike.
- Build drama – Quite surprising that one of the bigger stories of the night being Luke Ball was largely overlooked in the Fox coverage.
- Discover draft stars – Agree with Ed Wyatt allow some fresh TV talent be discovered as a Draft Expert.
- Integrate the fans in the coverage – Why not embrace the chatter on Twitter & Facebook and work it into the coverage with a ticker the same way MTV does?
- Use technology available – Costs are involved but the AFL Draft is a perfect vehicle to showcase the multi-channel options on Fox Sports. e.g. Highlights, Interviews, Stats, Multiple Audio are just a few that would’ve fit well.
- Talk to the players – The stars of the night are the players yet we didn’t hear from many of them at all. Sure they are kids but most would’ve been interviewed a few times during the lead up. A few standard “How excited are you?” questions give the fans a little insight into their new recruits.
- Who’d we pick? – Answer the most important question of the night, ALL NIGHT. Make sure the talent on hand knows the players picked and can give some info to the fans. Remember all footy fans want is hope and it goes a long way in selling memberships.
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Over the past 10 years the AFL Draft has grown in profile, just 3 years ago it was a 1 hour highlight show on Saturday afternoon, this year it will make it’s debut in prime time on Fox Sports on Thursday night.
Some purists may suggest that this is just another example of the AFL following the lead of US sports like the NFL and NBA, but why not follow? The NFL draft is so successful it is covered by TWO networks! USA Today describes the NFL Draft as “the next step in the evolution on the highest-rated TV sports where nobody moves much”.
The AFL Draft will be a HIT in prime time as fans are missing their footy fix. The draft provides one thing to all footy fans, hope. The televised AFL Draft will be slightly different to the NFL as the top 10 picks will be announced in reverse order from 10 to 1. Will this work? We’ll see on Thursday.
The AFL is promoting the Draft on AFL.com.au with the AFL Draft Machine . It allows fans to sift through draft prospects and try to determine who their team may pick up. Online promotions like this are terrific in allowing fans to participate in an event. It allows the AFL to “crowd source” data regarding the popularity of picks and report back to the fans. This exactly what Mark Cuban was talking about on why Live Sports is still the king on TV.
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