Channel Seven has moved the coverage of Monday night’s Richmond v Melbourne Anzac Day eve match to their secondary channel 7Mate to keep it out of the way of their flagship show My Kitchen Rules.

Last Monday’s MKR was watched by 1.65 million viewers across Australia, leading to the decision to move the footy coverage.

The AFL has backed the call, saying that they understand the decision on a business level.

"We're across it and we understand that this is a show that is very important to Seven," said AFL spokesman Patrick Keane.

"This is part of working in partnership with a broadcaster and we're supportive of them."

Because Seven’s contract calls for all games telecast into Victoria to be shown in HD, the broadcaster has agreed to switch on their HD signal for 7Mate.

Seven will show a full replay of the match on Tuesday ahead of its coverage of the Essendon v Collingwood game.