Seven Network shunts AFLW coverage to secondary channel

[NoobPie]

I read an article in the (I think) Guardian that seriously raised the possibility that the AFL had requested 7 to play dead on AFLW for the benefit of AFLX

Ridiculousness like this is deserving of ridicule.

 

[precarious]

Collingwood AFLM has been on the 7 mate in Melbourne three times this year. I think in that context the hand wringing about AFLW being on 7 mate looks pretty ridiculous

True, it's an issue with Seven across the board.

Ratings for the AFL this season have been very soft, and not helped at all by being put on 7mate at times. The Commonwealth Games had less impact on NRL ratings, possibly because of remaining on the main channel. The most recent Collingwood Saturday night game on 7mate got only 104k watching in Melbourne, though admittedly this was up against the royal wedding. Still, it is an almost unbelievably low figure.

I'd say it's less about hand wringing and more about questioning the value of being on Seven rather than another network. That goes equally for AFL, AFLW and AFLX.