Ten declines to show sellout Carlton-Richmond game live
Michael Warner and Jon Ralph
March 25, 2009
CHANNEL 10 is refusing to screen a live broadcast of Thursday's Richmond-Carlton blockbuster - despite the match being a sellout.
The last remaining general admission tickets to the AFL season opener were sold on Tuesday.
And a stampede for MCC reserve tickets means a bumper crowd of up to 90,000 is expected for the 7.40pm showdown. The AFL reserve is also sold out.
But Ten chiefs last night claimed they required several days' notice to alert the public to a change to its advertised broadcast time.
"We need at least three or four days to be able to get the change of time out there to the public. It's too late," said Ten's head of football, David Barham. The eagerly awaited Ben Cousins versus Chris Judd match will instead be shown on a 30-minute delay.
Richmond president Gary March last night called on the network to reverse its decision.
"It's disappointing for those people who can't get along - it will probably be our biggest-ever home-and-away game with a finals-like atmosphere," March said.
But AFL spokesman Patrick Keane revealed the League had not been approached by Ten with a submission to telecast the game live, as required under broadcast rules.
"That may well change tomorrow," he said.
Friday night's Grand Final rematch between Hawthorn and Geelong is also expected to attract a massive crowd.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25238012-661,00.html