The Australian Football League's decision to "extend quarter-time and three-quarter-time breaks on Friday nights by 30 seconds each" has given an estimated A$2M ($1.6M) free kick to Channel 7, according to Grant Baker of the HERALD SUN. The league announced by email just hours before the first match of this season that, after "a request from broadcast partner the Seven Network," quarter-time and three-quarter time had been "wound out from six minutes to six minutes and 30 seconds." Twenty-five Friday night matches are to be played this year -- "meaning a total of 30 minutes of extra advertising time." TV analyst Steve Allen of Fusion Strategy said that those extra minutes equated to about A$2M "in extra advertising income." Fox Footy -- which is owned by News Corp. Australia -- "is also a beneficiary of the extra advertising time, as are the commercial radio stations which cover the matches." It is understood Channel 7’s request for more advertising time was made after the record A$2.5B ($1.9B) broadcast rights deal "was struck last year and was not part of negotiations" (HERALD SUN, 4/26).
