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On Tuesday night, Hutchison introduced co-panellists Cornes, Matthew Lloyd and Wilson without mention of the moves. It made for an occasion less lively than usual, taking 22 minutes before any laughs were shared between the quartet.
It looked particularly uncomfortable for Lloyd, the former Essendon champion the only one of the four panellists expected to stay with Nine in 2025.
Cornes, a popular hot-take specialist and 300-gamer for Port Adelaide, was announced to be joining Seven last month in a major coup.
An official announcement about Wilson’s move to Seven had been expected on Wednesday, but that now appears unlikely. Seven did not respond to a series of questions, while Hutchison could not be reached ahead of this story’s publication. Nine also declined to comment.
Hutchison and McGuire are close friends, but there are plenty of personal and professional rivalries in an industry filled with former players and media personalities. When Hutchison suggested on air that former Western Bulldogs captain and media commentator Luke Darcy could soon turn his hand to politics with the Victorian Liberal Party, Cornes quipped, “I just became a Labor voter”, in the latest instalment of a tense relationship between the pair.
McGuire commissioned Footy Classified himself in 2007 during his brief stint as chief executive of Nine. Hutchison and Wilson are the only founding panellists to remain on the show, while McGuire continues to host the Wednesday night edition himself. Despite the ongoing drama, McGuire and Hutchison met on Wednesday morning, with the events considered part of business.
Rainmaker and JAM are relative minnows when compared to market leaders Gravity and NEP Australia.
The new AFL broadcast deal will see the sport broadcast on Seven’s digital platform 7Plus for the first time, while Foxtel will now produce, host and call every game across the season itself, with exclusive “Super Saturday” coverage for the first eight weeks of the 2025 season.
Part of the contract demands an increase to Seven’s football-related programming throughout the week, a domain Nine has excelled in, despite not having any broadcast rights since 2005. Seven also wants to get better returns on its annual outlay to the AFL, estimated at $225 million, which is just shy of the company’s current market capitalisation of $262 million. Foxtel picks up around 65 per cent of the bill.
“If you’re investing in rights, you want to make sure you support it with product,” Hutchison said on his Sounding Board podcast this week.
Footy Classified host Eddie McGuire.Credit: Nine
Expanding its coverage could be even more lucrative for Seven, with this weekend’s grand final featuring two teams – the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans – from the NRL’s heartland states.
ARL Commission chair and sports power broker Peter V’Landys took a swipe at the competing code this week, claiming the sport sometimes only gets 23,000 viewers in Sydney. The Swans’ preliminary final victory over Port Adelaide on Friday, while a relatively dull encounter, had an average broadcast audience of 153,000 in Sydney, compared to the 250,000 viewing the Cronulla Sharks win over the North Queensland Cowboys on the same night.
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The new contract also means Seven is facing a battle on two-fronts, its mid-week programming against free-to-air rival Nine, and now a more fierce broadcast and in-game coverage battle against Fox.
Seven intends to broadcast football-related programs on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with matches on Thursday and Friday. SEN is likely to play host to some of this programming at its Southbank studios initially, while Seven continues its relocation from Docklands into a new Collins St office in Melbourne’s CBD.
While Wilson will continue her duties as a columnist for The Age and regular spots on 3AW, it is not unusual for media personalities in Australia. Talent often works across multiple radio and television networks, including Fox Sports, Nine, Seven, 3AW, SEN and Triple M. Until 2022, for example, former North Melbourne champion Wayne Carey worked as a columnist for The Age while appearing on Seven’s Friday night broadcast.
With expanded coverage and talent needed next year, SEN in-game caller Gerard Whateley is expected to expand his relationship with Fox to commentate matches in 2025. He is already the host of talk show AFL 360, alongside Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson.
With Darcy, who works for Seven and Triple M, to step back from the media industry entirely, Hamish McLachlan, the brother of former AFL chief executive Gillon, will likely return as the anchor for Seven’s match-day coverage, with talk of mid-week interview show in the works.
Nine intends to carry Footy Classified on into 2025, however with the talent moves only happening this week, has not firmed up its hosting line-up, sources close to the network not authorised to speak publicly said.
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