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NINE GUARANTEES LIVE COVERAGE OF
ALL WAFL FINALS
Nine Perth announced today that the station will guarantee full live coverage of all 2015 WAFL finals series games featuring West Perth.
Nine Perth’s Managing Director, David Mott said Nine would broadcast the finals games if Seven elected not to do so.
“We’d be happy to broadcast the finals in the interest of supporting grass roots football, the WAFC, all clubs, supporters and the West Perth Football Club that Nine Perth sponsors.
“The ongoing controversy surrounding the broadcast of the WAFL finals due to a West Perth sponsorship featuring a Nine News logo on the jumpers, and Channel Seven’s decision not to broadcast any West Perth games is a major disappointment to all followers of this great game,” said Mr Mott.
“Nine made the decision to sponsor West Perth because we wanted to support local football. At the time, ABC was broadcasting the WAFL, and both Nine and Seven were sponsoring teams with logos on jumpers. There was no problem then.
“Sponsorship dollars are critical for the survival of sporting bodies such as the WAFL. Nine Perth will maintain its sponsorship of West Perth, as well as providing live coverage of all finals games if required. By Nine committing to the broadcast, everyone wins.
“Nine Perth will also ensure any games featuring East Perth, which is sponsored by Seven and The West Australian, will be broadcast, even though the Seven logo appears on the team’s jumpers.
“Principal sponsor McDonald’s who underwrite the broadcast on Seven, along with other sponsors, should not be disadvantaged and caught in the middle of this issue. They deserve the right under their sponsorship agreements to have all games broadcast.
"We are happy to discuss our proposal in more detail with the WAFC at their convenience.
Key Points:
· Nine Perth’s sponsorship with West Perth Football Club pre-dates the broadcast deal with Seven by more than 12 months
· Seven and WAFC were well aware of Nine Perth’s sponsorship deal at the time of signing the broadcast deal
· Competing sponsorships are not uncommon in sport
· The AFL’s principal sponsor is Toyota. Other AFL clubs have competing sponsorships with car manufacturers with logos on jumpers that appear on all broadcast games. Examples are:
o Sydney Swans – VW
o GWS – Fiat
o North Melbourne – Mazda
o Carlton – Hyundai
For further information please contact:
Wendy McKillop
Head of Marketing, Publicity and Communications
Nine Network Australia, Perth
M: 0412 211 011
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
