3AW did not broadcast Thursday night’s Bulldogs vs Sydney AFL game in a departure from its normal practice during AFL footy season.
Regular host Denis Walter presented his normal program instead.
The move has shocked the audience for the city’s number one footy station, according to the Herald Sun, which blames ‘Sydney management’ for the change.
“In a shock move, 3AW has decided to cease covering Thursday night AFL games in preference to keeping its regular weekday programming in place.
“The dulcet tones of Walter are seen as a better business decision by 3AW, which is now run out of Nine Entertainment’s headquarters in Sydney.” says the News Limited newspaper.
After covering the opening two Thursday night games of the AFL season, the station changed its scheduling this week. AFL caller Tony Leonard gave score updates into Denis Walter’s show.
The Herald Sun says the change “has been met with raised eyebrows at AFL headquarters given the radio rights are up for negotiation at the end of the year.”
News Limited is a rival to Nine Entertainment’s Melbourne Age and 3AW.
I think for 3AW it may have been a commercial decision as well as a statement from their Sydney management that the incursion of football into regular, lucrative and profitable weekday programming is a burden upon the business's profitability. Live football is very expensive programming to produce compared to weeknight talkback programming. 3AW's Winter weekend programming is mostly dedicated to football coverage. It's their weekday programming that is probably the most profitable for them though.