Channel 31 looking to air live local football matches in 2016

LIVE suburban football could be screened weekly on TV next year if plans by Channel 31 get off the ground.

Southern Football League v Essendon and District Football League at Princess Park Carlton. Essendon player Dylon Joyce is tackled. Picture: Andy Brownbill

LIVE community football could hit the small screen weekly next year if plans slated by Channel 31 get off the ground.

After successfully broadcasting two Essendon District Football League grand finals live in September, the community television channel is keen to ramp up its coverage next season and feature one live league match each Sunday afternoon.

The Local Footy Show team is behind the push and is talking to football leagues from across Melbourne and regional Victoria about partnering with them to make it a reality.

“It would be something quite different,” The Local Footy Show producer Daryl Pitman said.

“It would be more than just the game of footy. If it was a country area, we would be focusing on the tourism of that region and the history and culture of that region. So it would be a bit of Postcards meets Match of the Day.”

Daryl Pitman (second from left) and fellow members of Channel 31’s The Local Footy Show team.

Pitman said he had been pushing to cover live community football for six years but satellite costs had proven a major barrier.

However, new 4G internet equipment bought by Channel 31 has reduced the cost and made the project more manageable. “We’d like to be in a different league in a different part of Victoria each week,” Pitman said.

“We want it to be a must-view on Sunday afternoons where people say, ‘they’re in Mildura this week, I’d love to see what their footy is like and what their facilities are like and what the town is like’. But it’s going to depend on the co-operation from the leagues. The leagues have to do their part in getting a couple of sponsors on board or getting some funding to meet the costs and if they do they’ll be live on television and the internet as well.”

The Local Footy Show has been running for 19 years and is aired on Friday nights at 7pm and Saturday mornings at 9am during the football season on Channel 31 (Digital Channel 44).