How the Marngrook Footy Show will make its comeback

THERE’S more than one AFL television program in strife in 2018. But The Marngrook Footy Show has big plans to take on all comers next season.

THE Footy Show isn’t the only AFL television program in strife in 2018 — so is The Marngrook Footy Show.

Creator and host Grant Hansen has lashed SBS after his show’s failed Wednesday night experiment this year.

SBS decided to move The Marngrook Footy Show to Wednesdays when the AFL announced a raft of Thursday night matches — but the switch has been a disaster.

MARNGROOK’S PROUD HISTORY

INSIDERS ON THE DEATH OF THE FOOTY SHOW

FRONT BAR’S SECRET WEAPON

Marngrook Footy Show celebrated its 10 year anniversary last year. Picture: Sarah Matray

Ratings dropped to as low as a dismal 5000 viewers in Melbourne in recent times — a fraction of the numbers the program used to get.

Hansen says he told SBS about the potentially dire impact of a Wednesday shift but his warnings went unheeded.

“I’m not really (happy),” Hansen said. “It was an experiment and I was very loath to let it happen. I have ended up being proven right because our ratings have suffered dramatically this year.

“It is very difficult to get anyone to watch footy shows on Wednesday nights.”

Hansen says the quality of The Marngrook Footy Show also suffered because there were no AFL team line-ups to discuss (teams are announced on Thursdays).

“Some quiz show stuff that we had didn’t go down too well with viewers,” Hansen said. “Funny skit stuff that we put in the show also got a lukewarm response.

“Our viewers want a show that is ‘who is in and who is out’ and don’t like the gimmicky stuff. They just like us talking straight footy.”

This year’s season of The Marngrook Footy Show was also hit by the departure of co-host Gilbert McAdam. Former Essendon champion Derek Kickett is McAdam’s replacement.

Leila Gurruwiwi and Shelley Ware round out the team. Regular panellists included Tigers’ legend Kevin Bartlett.

The Footy Show isn’t the only AFL television program in strife in 2018 — so is The Marngrook Footy Show.

Hansen is promising fans that the program, which screens on NITV, will return to Thursdays against The Footy Show and The Front Bar in 2019.

“Hopefully when we get back to Thursday night next year we can go back to what made “Marngrook very successful in the past,” Hansen said.

Hansen says that if he had his way SBS would screen The Marngrook Footy Show on its main channel as well as NITV in AFL states.

Hansen believes his show, which has lasted 11 seasons is good enough to take on The Front Bar and The Footy Show and win.

“I have got no doubt that if The Marngrook Footy Show was on a major mainstream station it would be the number one or two footy show on TV,” Hansen said.

“The (OzTAM) ratings don’t include the Northern Territory or Tasmania or the regional areas outside Victoria and we’ve got a huge fan base in those areas.

“The Front Bar is very much like Marngrook. Sam Pang was my protégé. He worked with me on radio for five years. Sam has come through the Marngrook stable and brings that mentality to The Front Bar.

“That (being on SBS main channel) would make a huge difference to the reach and the audience and we would go to another level altogether.

“We’ll be starting back in 2019 at our usual time of 7.30pm so we’ll have an hour jump on the other two shows (The Front Bar and The Footy Show).

“We definitely need to get back to Thursday nights because they are the traditional football nights with the footy fans. Marngrook needs to get back into that space and be a major player again.”