This has been reflected in the almost weekly newspaper reports about whether certain contests are to be broadcast live.
Just two months ago, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou gave fans an indication of the League's priorities in this current round of negotiations when he said: "Live sport is what the world is demanding."
Well, the constant debate about live footy will be a thing of the past from next season, because the League's new five-year broadcast rights agreement with the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra, which was announced on Thursday, has delivered it in spades.
On Friday nights, there is a small price to pay, with the starting time of matches in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane pushed back to 7.50pm.
But if you live along Australia's eastern seaboard you'll no longer need to go through that nerve-jangling process of deciding whether to check the score on afl.com.au, the radio or Fox Sports News.
If you want, you can even bring that that glorious old concept of turning the TV commentators down and turning your favourite radio crew up.
Better still, you might follow afl.com.au's Match Centre, with its live statistics and interactive chat, on your laptop while you watch.
Will all these games be shown by the Seven Network or will some be on-sold to Channel 9 or 10? That remains the multi-million dollar question that is yet to be answered.
For TV viewers in South Australia and Western Australia, most matches will remain on delay (it will be reduced) when it comes to free-to-air television.
So that's where the other element of the new rights deal comes into play.
From next year, every single match except the grand final (which, of course, is never shown on delay) will be screened live by Foxtel.
It means that no matter where you live in Australia, if you have Foxtel you can watch all nine games per round, and the first three weeks of the finals, as they happen.
For the tech-savvy footy fans out there, the new deal has plenty for you as well.
Telstra has won the right to stream all matches direct to mobile phones and tablet devices such as the iPad.
The growth of internet television, known as IPTV, will also make it possible to stream matches direct to your plasma or LCD screen via a connection device, such as Telstra's T-box.
Live footy is here, and it's here to stay.
