Everything I've seen indicates that Friday night coverage live into Sydney and Brisbane is a key part of the deal. I think you'll be suprised.

I hope you're right, but history tells me otherwise.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

It will also outrate "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music".

I think the AFL got so badly burnt by this one last time that it will be in bold capital letters on the first page of the deal. It's also been mentioned plenty of times by both the AFL and the press.

I don't have as much faith that they've got the rest of the deal right, but at least 7 and 10 are bound to match the coverage offered by 9 and Foxtel because of the way the bidding process was run.

The AFL only care about the $$$.

If seven and ten said to the afl "we don't want to run afl against league in the northern states, here's another x amount of dollars" the afl would happily bend over and write it out of the contract.

I guess only time will tell. I'm not confident.

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

Dimwit wanted the dollars and never factored that Foxtel wouldnt get a leg in.

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Ich bein ein Carltonian

Fine by me, I fit that demographic... *and no, not the 'stoner' part* - I went to the Australia V Italy World Cup Quarters @ Fed Sq., then went to work the next morning looking *and feeling* like death warmed up...

...and I don't even like soccer.

Staying up for a Carlton/Any AFL match won't be a long stretch.

Ahh, serves them right - irregardless of the repercussions in general, I'm happy to see Foxtel telling 7/10 to shove it up their @rse...

If the lack of live games into other states is true then it kinda goes against what I thought the AFL was trying to do = Take over Australia.

Oh well...we will see what we shall see (hopefully for Deano/verbs and co it will be live games :) )

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The problem will be made. for the solution to be sold, to your face before your eyes, tolerance is now the new danger

I'll think you will find that the AFL in all its dumbness and short sightedness, did not think the $20mill first and last bid that Seven bought in the previous rights would come back and bite them on the bum.

The AFL wanted 9 and Foxtel to keep the rights because they meet their 2 major criteria - moola and exposure into the northern markets.

But when you get greedy and you have all this money coming at you $780m + $20m you can't see straight and when you are fat like the Spew, it becomes impossible.

They went for the best financial deal for the competition but what they haven't banked on is the fact that the audience share will be down.

Instead of 750,000 watching a big game in Melbourne on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon, only a fraction will because the other fraction will be watching the other game.

That fragmentation will dilute the value of the game to broadcasters and their sponsors.

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“It is a state of mind, a system of belief, a way of seeing the world, a deep faith that, because you are Carlton, you belong to something great.” - Mike Fitzpatrick articulating what Out of the Blue means.

It would be great if Carlton had wealthy die hard supporters like the good old days. It appears when Big Jack and Wes Lofts were ousted, so was the money. How do those members feel now who fought good and hard to oust the money?

I know when we start winning games that the power brokers will jump on board again. They will want to be part of the action and not just enjoying it from afar.

And another point, ignoring the AFL sanctions for salary cap breaches, we should be thankful for the AFL as they saved the club. We could have become the Gold Coast Blues if the AFL really wanted us to. We are still there, alive and kicking and in time when we start winning games, it will turn around.

Time goes too slow when we are in this predicament.

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It is not as bad as you are lead to believe.......it is %$#^& worse!!!

So Clayman just to clarify in Jack's last year at the club there was plenty of money and then we he left the money just disappeared? So when I voted for Collo and Carlton 1 all the money we had built up with Jack and Wes went?
Is that your version of events?

There is no doubt in my mind that when "Carlton 1" took over, we lost the backing from our wealthy supporters therefore the cash injections disappeared. I am not talking about the money sitting in the Carlton Football Club bank account, but the connections for influential supporters to turn things around quickly.

I have no inside knowledge, but this is the feeling that I get and so do my many good friends who are also Carlton supporters. I am a Carlton Hero and this was the first sign that we lost those connections as they targeted the average supporter which I have never seen before.

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It is not as bad as you are lead to believe.......it is %$#^& worse!!!

At the time of Carlton1 coming to power, it was said that the money had dried up and it would be forthcoming with a new grouping. Before Collo was removed, there was talk that money would be forthcoming because the old factions couldn't work with Collo. And in the forum-based rumours of change with Smorgon, people are floating the idea that money will be forthcoming.

It appears from the outer to be nothing more than a Carlton version of 'if you build it, they will come'....'If you change over, money will come'. I don't buy it - I may have bought it back then but no longer. It's fanciful until someone puts their aggots on the line and tries to reverse the suffering of this Club since 2002, brought about by arrogance and mismanagement.

The bucket of money we used to have was spent on some chairs that no one pays to use. We are a pauper now for that and other reasons.

One tyrant and a compliant populace put us into this mess, and I dare say it will take a few well-off semi-tyrants and a keen, avid and heartfelt Carlton-loving populace to get us back over the long-term. Until we see some $ being put in, that is the only thing we can rely on.

As is said in the great Broadway 'puppet' musical, Avenue Q - "it's only for now."

We're not so much controlled by the AFL as we are by those 'wealthy' supporters that are spoken about will lead us to the promised land...but the question keeps coming up - who will do it and why haven't they already?

I feel like a broken record. The answer is big business. When Fitzroy died an ugly death at the hands of the AFL - rumours abound on Melbourne radio and newspapers about the 'White Knight' that would come to the rescue. After all - it had happened before in 1986 when the Roys had all but packed their bags for the Sunshine State.

However in the current economic climate - everyone and everything is (by chance or misfortune) tied up - much like the six degrees of seperation (or kevin bacon if you prefer).

Here is the list off the top of my head:

Grocon
Blue-Scope Steel
OneSteel
Smorgon Steel
ACCC
ASIC
Woolworths
Bruanwo
Mayne
Baxter Group
Rio Tinto

Some pretty Big Boys in that list..and I've probably left some out as well - but the aforementioned Businesses either have very wealthy Carlton supporters at/or near the helm - or a companys' business dealings are directly impacting these influential individuals on committing themselves to the Carlton FC cause.

As I said on November 16 - movement is afoot in the business sector - therefore there will be moves afoot in the AFL club sector. When I said 'Christmas Coup' in October - I wasn't talking about Fiji.

Please keep up the broken record routine Doc, I like it and it gives a little bit of hope.

Until then I am Cuba Gooding Jnr.

...I love black people too Molsey - but that is hardly the point

Hey Dr Sherrin, don't forget to add Visy to that list and perhaps NAB as well.

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NOW YOU'RE JUST SOME CLUB THAT I USED TO KNOW.

All together now...."The internet is really, really great...."

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And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.