The AFL has gone back to what the fans want after last year’s experiments with the fixture list backfired badly.

While Thursday night games will continue, the league has abandoned the hugely-unpopular Sunday night and Monday night timeslots.

There is a greater emphasis on traditional weekend afternoon games.

The league’s current billion-plus dollars broadcast rights deal ends in 2016 and it wants a new one sewn up next year if possible.

Last year’s fixture list contained some notable experiments that were focused on TV ratings, rather than what was convenient for fans.

While the AFL had its fingers burnt with Sunday night and Monday night, Thursday night proved encouraging.

So there will be five of them through next season, including four in a row from rounds 12-15.

When he took over from Andrew Demetriou earlier this year, new AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan pledged his administration would listen more to what fans want.

“It’s a concession that (some) things weren’t ideal for our fans,” McLachlan said of next year’s draw.

“I don’t think we shied away from that – we’ve talked about that consistently.

“We’ve done a helluva lot of work to understand clearly where we made mistakes.

“We’ve been listening and I’m really pleased with our fixture.”

The initial reaction at Thursday morning’s announcement of the 2015 fixture list was overwhelmingly positive.

There will ongoing debate about playing five games on Anzac Day, which falls on Saturday next season.

And the distribution of the prime Friday night slot raised eyebrows.

Richmond have seven and Carlton, who finished outside the top eight, have six.

North Melbourne and Essendon have only two, against each other, despite the Kangaroos reached a preliminary final.

Some other notable features:

* The season starts a week late because of the cricket World Cup on April 2 – the Easter weekend – and ends on October 3.

* There will be only one bye round, again because of the later start, rather than two this year.

* Carlton and Richmond will open the season with a Thursday night blockbuster at the MCG.

* In Victoria, there will be 20 Saturday and 27 Sunday day games for a total of 47. That’s up from 34 weekend day games in the state this season.

* Saturday night games on the eastern seaboard will start at 7.20, rather than 7.40.

* A packed Anzac Day schedule will start with St Kilda v Carlton in Wellington at 11am AEST, followed by the traditional afternoon blockbuster at the MCG between Essendon and Collingwood.

* The other Anzac Day games are GWS v Gold Coast in Canberra as a twilight fixture, followed by two night games – Port Adelaide at home against Hawthorn and Fremantle’s Len Hall tribute match against Sydney.

* Carlton coach Mick Malthouse has chosen his old club Collingwood as the opponent for round five, when he breaks Jock McHale’s all-time coaching record of 714 games

* The AFL has again grouped the 18 teams into three groups of six, depending on this year’s ladder positions, as a fairer way of working out who plays each other twice.

* There will be no Good Friday games, despite the AFL Commission giving permission.