CATS SEASON TO KICK OFF ON FOX FOOTY
Ben Jensen 5 February 2012

THE GEELONG CATS will kick off their season in week two of the NAB Cup at Etihad Stadium against Sydney and St Kilda on February 24. As with last year the NAB Cup is an 18 side modified round robin style tournament with each side playing one 'full match' on a given day, with three in each pool playing a half against the other with a short break in between. The Cats play the second match and as a result play two in a row, of course as their opponents in the first match Sydney do also. The Saints have a break in between their two (half) matches.

The games like all the NAB Cup this season will be broadcast exclusively on the new Fox Footy channel, which launches on 17 February. Of course there was a 'Fox Footy Channel' (not the capital Channel) from seasons 2002 to 2006 before Kim Williams had a bit of a spat and canned it, with games from 2007-2011 screened mainly on Fox Sports 1. From next season on we'll have the privilege (for what some claim is an exorbitant amount) of five exclusive games each week on Pay, with the other four also screened as a simulcast of Channel 7's FTA coverage. The advantage being there won't be any ads and the games can be in HD although unless Channel 7 decides to film in HD (which it won't) it will be an 'upscaled' version which may only be marginally better than 7. Should 7 have any games on delay, they'll be live on Fox; and if there's two games at a time, the secondary game will be on Fox Sports 1.

Fox has signed up devisive Eddie McGuire along with Dermott Brereton and Anthony Hudson from free to air. They join Fox veterens Dwayne Russell, Gerard Healy and Paul Roos among others. Can't say we're looking forward to McGuire, but countless Collingwood fans will; but will they have subscription television?

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