The AFL will not attempt to make more money from its $2.5 billion broadcast rights agreement regardless of whether it moves to a twilight grand final in 2017.
With Gillon McLachlan to announce the scheduling of the last Saturday in September before this weekend's round of matches, the league chief is understood to have given the Seven Network an undertaking not to revisit the deal should the game be moved to a start of around 4.30pm. This is despite the considerable commercial benefits of the game being moved towards a later start time and therefore a bigger audience.
Channel Seven, which holds the free-to-air rights to the AFL until the end of 2022, has been pushing the league for years to schedule the game closer to prime time.
The NRL grand final is contested each year on a Sunday evening and outrates the AFL play-off as a result.
McLachlan is expected to announce the timeslot on Thursday or Friday after making a recommendation to the AFL Commission. While the AFL would not be drawn on its decision on Wednesday, the view of the CEO was that any change should not be seen as a dash for cash but more a genuine attempt to stage the biggest game of the year in a better atmosphere.
Either way the decision will prove the final significant move of Mike Fitzpatrick's chairmanship. He officially steps down on April 4 but will attend the Western Bulldogs-Sydney clash at Etihad Stadium on Friday night where the home team will unfurl its 2016 premiership flag.
McLachlan's view is that the league will definitely experiment with a twilight grand final within the next six years of the broadcast deal and sooner rather than later.
An enthusiast regarding recent twilight preliminary finals, he has spent the past four weeks consulting with the game's key stakeholders as part of a subtle campaign towards this week's announcement.
Although the majority commission view was to retain the status quo for 2017, the ultimate decision now remains uncertain.
McLachlan has also said the AFL would not revisit the AFL Women's broadcast agreement which currently has the game being televised free of charge on Seven and Fox Footy. That agreement has one year to run.
