Anyone who thinks that the “partnership” between the Seven and Ten networks for the coverage of AFL extends to other parts of their businesses is cruelly mistaken.

The antipathy is almost palpable: Seven regards Ten as the “Simpsons channel”, Ten sees Seven as “arrogant” and a law unto itself.

The two Chief Executives, David Leckie at Seven and Ten’s Grant Blackley, have similar sales backgrounds and strong opinions of themselves and their network’s positions in the minds of viewers and the marketplace.

Leckie, it must be remembered, rang Blackley six weeks ago to tell him of rumours that former Ten TV boss, John McAlpine, had been asked to return to head up/help Ten.

Blackley told that story against himself in an interview in the Australian Financial Review where he and Ten executive chairman Nick Falloon, who should understand Leckie better than anyone, went out of their way to ignore Seven.

Seven in turn disparages Ten’s concentration on 16 to 39 and 18 to 49 audience age groups, highlighting its successes in these groups and Ten’s failings.

And in the AFL partnership, relations are continually tense over the quality of coverage, camera angles, programming tactics and audience numbers. Ten’s sports boss, David White, is the point man for the partnership with the AFL: Seven’s sports boss Saul Shtein isn’t. Saying the pair are not fans of each other’s work is possibly a polite way of putting it.

Of course the AFL is the source of much of the friction. The C7 case launched and so far lost by Seven had Ten as one of the respondents (defendants). When Ten deserted Nine for Seven to bid jointly for the current AFL contract back in 2005, Seven first had to drop it from the list of respondents (and the AFL), and do a deal on Ten’s costs.

Against this background it’s not surprising that Ten has broken ranks with Seven and signed with the “enemy” Foxtel for retransmission on the Pay TV group’s digital platform.

Grant Blackley and Foxtel’s Kim Williams were all lovey dovey in a joint phone press conference yesterday but when it came to Seven there was a certain pausing and vagueness, especially from Kim Williams.

Ten will go on the Foxtel Electronic Program Guide, and not on Seven’s Tivo, or so it would seem. Ten will now be retransmitted (from September) to Foxtel subscribers either through the cable or the satellite. Satellite charges were not disclosed but Ten will get a deal similar to Nine, which signed as part of a mate’s deal some time ago (PBL owns 25% of Foxtel). Nine is expected to start paying the $2 million satellite retransmission fees next year.

Those satellite fees (and the clearances needed for music and programming) are part of the reason Seven hasn’t talked to Foxtel for several years on the issue (C7 made chats hard). Seven is saying it will restart talks soon.

What is amazing is that neither are all that worried about Nine, the former ratings leader. That says a lot about how far Nine’s standing has fallen.