It's been a mixed year for the AFL's television broadcasters. While it's difficult to criticise the width and breadth that Channel Seven and Foxtel have gone to in covering the indigenous game, this, in part, was seen as a reason why attendances dropped in Melbourne, sparking a strategy re-think under new league chief Gillon McLachlan.

Put simply, so comprehensive is the coverage, particularly for those willing - and financially able - to have a pay television subscription, that the match-day experience at the ground can even suffer by comparison (particularly when factoring in the cost of tickets, parking and food).

More pointed coverage .... Nine's Footy Classified.

Seven, to borrow a modern sporting term, is "all in" on game day, even hanging on for the live post-match press conferences on a Friday night. It also has its Sunday morning panel show and the forefather of the Monday-night review, Talking Footy, now a more gentle handpass compared to Nine's often pointed Footy Classified.

Fox Footy continues to reinforce its value, although for the likes of St Kilda and Melbourne supporters the nightly dose of dissection on AFL360 becomes Groundhog Day in long and losing seasons. Senior coaches Paul Roos and Mark Thompson have earned their pay cheques by providing follow-up headlines on their weekly appearances alongside hosts Gerard Whately and Mark Robinson, while Jordan Lewis, the Hawthorn star, has been as forthright in the studio as he is on the field. Thompson has also been great value in his often quirky post-match press conferences on Seven, reinforcing the value of extending the coverage.