AFL TV coverage in India?

[slam]

Hi All

I've just relocated to India (Hyderabad to be precise) for work. I had heard that there is an Indian pay TV provider who broadcasts several AFL games per week (at least in the 2006 season) into India.....but I'm having trouble confirming who it was and if they will be doing so in 2007.

A question late last year via the AFL website was responded to by Telstra saying "ask Foxtel"......which was somewhat ironic given the broadcast situation in Australia etc.

So anyone out there who happens to also be an Aussie in India (or for that matter an Indian who's seen the light re AFL) - if you can shed some light on AFL coverage over here I'd be most appreciative!

 

[Eagle87]

Hi All

I've just relocated to India (Hyderabad to be precise) for work. I had heard that there is an Indian pay TV provider who broadcasts several AFL games per week (at least in the 2006 season) into India.....but I'm having trouble confirming who it was and if they will be doing so in 2007.

A question late last year via the AFL website was responded to by Telstra saying "ask Foxtel"......which was somewhat ironic given the broadcast situation in Australia etc.

So anyone out there who happens to also be an Aussie in India (or for that matter an Indian who's seen the light re AFL) - if you can shed some light on AFL coverage over here I'd be most appreciative!

I travel a fair bit in Asia (including India) and I watched an Eagles game in Mumbai last year via the Australia Network which is an included channel with many Asian cable providers.

Australia Networks website which allows you to see their regional rebroadcasters is at http://australianetwork.com/ .... you can also email them if your still not sure about Hyderabad!

 

[slam]

Thanks - sorry I should have mentioned Australia Network. I'm aware of it but was told there is one of the providers who has a sports channel that covers the AFL in (relatively) more depth - possibly DishTV.....but trying to get an answer from them is.....well lets just say "challenging".

Again thanks for the reply - and anyone else out there with knowledge of AFL coverage here in India....HELP!

 

[cleveland]

Stay off the Curry.................its is lethal stuff

 

[nico]

As if I will believe you if you say you are an Aussie calling from an Indian call centre.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Thanks - sorry I should have mentioned Australia Network. I'm aware of it but was told there is one of the providers who has a sports channel that covers the AFL in (relatively) more depth - possibly DishTV.....but trying to get an answer from them is.....well lets just say "challenging".

Again thanks for the reply - and anyone else out there with knowledge of AFL coverage here in India....HELP!

I think you'd struggle to find a provider with more in depth coverage than the Australia Network, who show 5 matches a week, most only a couple of hours delayed.

 

[The Majestic]

I never really thought the game was shown in India, any ideas on how popular it is in India?

 

[greenhat]

I sometimes wonder why the AFL isn't working hard at developing the sport in India. They have the right size grounds everywhere to play on, unlike most countries in the world.
Theres gotta be a fair number of people who cant play cricket properly because the equipment costs too much
I hear soccer is pretty big there, but if their national team is 148th (i think) in the world, is it really -that- big?
if the AFL were to provide footies (the kangaroo leather ones , or just rubber) and some sticks to put at the end of a few cricket fields it wouldnt cost much and might interest a few locals

Obviously its a bit of a long shot and would never be a major sport, but the potential is huge anyway, with India's population and booming economy
Also I don't think it would be hard to get an Australian cricketer or two to talk up the sport over there. (I'm thinking Shane Warne) If Brett Lee can make no. 4 on the music charts (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/08/1168104921621.html), Australian cricketers must have a fair presence there


sorry for ranting off topic there
I don't know much about India so I might be way off, maybe one of you guys who has been there a bit could shed some light on this for me?

 

[Total Power]

I never really thought the game was shown in India, any ideas on how popular it is in India?

No one knows anything about AFL in india.I worked in india for a year a few years ago.Soccer is really popular in some parts of india but cricket is like a religion there.Ask any indian bloke on shane warne or steve waugh's stats and they will tell you accurate stuff. I really thought to myself at one stage that it might worth a punt promoting the game in India, since the have cricket grounds (perfect for AFL), billions of sports loving people. To do that the AFL obviously needs to promote the game to the younger generation through schools and colleges.One problem with it though, sports is never considered as a "career" in India (unless you are a cricket player), so AFL might struggle to find blokes who will play at a professional level, nevertheless its worth a punt.

 

[amos]

The Australia Network have awesome customer feedback. I use them for my AFL. They track your email and it stays on their data base until a reply is made. By memory, the AFL GF telecast mentioned all the overseas broadcasters when they were commentating before the game. They offer five games a weekend and sometimes six. Saturday and Sunday arvo games are either live or a quarter delayed. The network broadcasts digitally now so it's quite possible the their Network is on digital cable (which is a fraction more expensive than analogue).

That being said however, I also have Supersports from South Africa via Satellite and out of the 80 odd channels there, there's no AFL. There is cricket though and that's the reason I have it.

The answer might be a slingbox. I have friends in England that use a slingbox to watch live feeds of sports. I believe they're already shipping to Australia. Hook one of them up at a mate's house or family's house, and you're set. Slingboxes were made for the exact problem that you're presented with.

 

[slam]

Response from Australia Network below - all credit to them for the speed and clarity of their response to my email question! This explains why I couldnt find details of the Australia Network on DishTV here.

Hi

Many thanks for writing in.

Yes, we will be broadcasting the AFL again this year and whilst no details have been confirmed yet, I expect the coverage will be similar to last year's.

We are not broadcast by either Tata Sky or dishTV I am afraid. We were on dish but they have recently taken us off. We are back in negotiations with them and are hopeful of a successful outcome very soon.

We are available through a large network of cable operators. To get details for your area please contact our distribution representative - divya.sangal@tv18online.com.

Best Regards
Australia Network​

 

[Beckers]

No one knows anything about AFL in india.I worked in india for a year a few years ago.Soccer is really popular in some parts of india but cricket is like a religion there....edit.......

So the 4th round of the FA cup will deffo be on the telly?? I will be in Mumbai on Jan 28th when my lowly team take on Chelsea at Stampford Bridge and its supposedly on BBC!!!!

 

[slam]

You'll have no problem with the FA cup - assuming you stay at even a half decent hotel - soccer is very well covered here - typically on multiple channels.

 

[fishmonger]

I sometimes wonder why the AFL isn't working hard at developing the sport in India. They have the right size grounds everywhere to play on, unlike most countries in the world.
Theres gotta be a fair number of people who cant play cricket properly because the equipment costs too much
I hear soccer is pretty big there, but if their national team is 148th (i think) in the world, is it really -that- big?
if the AFL were to provide footies (the kangaroo leather ones , or just rubber) and some sticks to put at the end of a few cricket fields it wouldnt cost much and might interest a few locals

Obviously its a bit of a long shot and would never be a major sport, but the potential is huge anyway, with India's population and booming economy
Also I don't think it would be hard to get an Australian cricketer or two to talk up the sport over there. (I'm thinking Shane Warne) If Brett Lee can make no. 4 on the music charts (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/08/1168104921621.html), Australian cricketers must have a fair presence there


sorry for ranting off topic there
I don't know much about India so I might be way off, maybe one of you guys who has been there a bit could shed some light on this for me?

No doubt interest will pick up now that the Australia Network has stared covering the sport.

The AFL may not be interested in anything outside Australia (except probably South Africa now that the International Rules folly has ended).

But the WAFL see potential and are definately interested in a stake of the Indian pie.

Brian Dixon, head of AFL South Africa is keen to see the game grow there also and visited the country to try and kickstart a local comp.
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20061206200850371

 

[Beckers]

You'll have no problem with the FA cup - assuming you stay at even a half decent hotel - soccer is very well covered here - typically on multiple channels.

Thanks slam, staying at one of the best so should be on!

 

[kane249]

Last time i was there (albeit not for awhile) Star Tv had a channel which showed the AFL matches, you might want ot check with them

 

[Julie_L]

You can always watch the games on the AFL website the day after they happen. I found internet cafes in India were well set up with fast connection and they often had headphones for each computer.

In South East Asia the ABC did have a channel that shows some AFL, but I have never seen it in India.

 

[JeffDunne]

TVU is currently streaming Channel 10 so if that continues into the season you might get the odd game there (from memory the stream is from Sydney so you might be limited). While not always available or reliable, illegal video streams are always an alternate when a paid option isn't available.

It wouldn't surprise me if other streams start appearing once we get into the season, and most decent game streams are only up when the game is on (presumably to reduce the risk of them being shutdown). I read on one of the p2p forums recently someone was planning Foxtel streams of union games so it wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing some AFL streams appear.

Wouldn't rely on it but it's an option if all else fails.

If the AFL had any brains they'd start a service like the NFL have for streaming games online.