Former AFL chief executive Wayne Jackson has called for Melbourne and North Melbourne to merge as the league released its financial summary for last season which showed the Demons and the Kangaroos near the bottom in virtually every revenue stream.

However current AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who succeeded Jackson, has thrown his support behind the two embattled Victorian clubs saying the league is committed to 10 teams in Melbourne and an 18-team competition as it looks to boost the value of its next broadcast rights deal to $1 billion over five seasons.

With Melbourne and North Melbourne struggling to make money in light of the poor financial returns both clubs are receiving from home games at the MCG and Etihad Stadium respectively, Jackson believes the two clubs would be far better off in the long run if they joined forces.

"It (a merger between the two clubs) will be expensive and it will cause an enormous amount of angst amongst a relatively small number of people but I really do think it's in the best long-term interests of the game," Jackson told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

Jackson said Melbourne and North Melbourne were a perfect fit for each other.

"Just hypothesising it - when you think about the Melbourne footy club and the Kangaroos (merging) you could have a red, white and blue (jumper), have the club called the Melbourne Kangaroos, playing out of the MCG, and if managed well the best football brand name you could wish for in a couple of years."

Jackson's comments came not long after Kangaroos chief executive Eugene Arocca admitted on Tuesday his club would not survive if the AFL could not sort out the problems of clubs struggling to make money by playing at Etihad Stadium before the league takes control of the ground in 2025.

However Demetriou insisted on Wednesday that Melbourne and North, which the AFL attempted to entice to the Gold Coast at the end of 2007, would remain Victorian based clubs and separate entities.

"Our view is very clear - we actually want 10 teams in Melbourne, it's important we have 10 teams in Melbourne and it's important for a lot of reasons," he said.

Demetriou said any reduction in the number of Victorian teams would greatly impact the AFL's chances of increasing the value of its broadcasting rights amid reports Channel Nine is again preparing a bid to re-capture the rights at the end of this current broadcasting deal in 2011.

The current rights are held by Channels Seven, Ten and Foxtel - worth $780 million - but with the next deal to include an extra game per week - with the introduction of new teams on the Gold Coast and in west Sydney - the AFL is expecting to reap $1 billion for its television rights from 2012-16.

"You take two clubs (Melbourne and North Melbourne) out (of the competition) and what you will see is we will get a reduction in our broadcast rights," Demetriou said.

Demetriou said any reduction in the number of Victorian clubs would also damage the Victorian economy and hinder the league's ability to meet its contractual arrangements with the MCG and Etihad Stadium where it is contracted to play a certain number of games each season.

But the AFL's release of its financial summary for 2008 shows just what a difficult job Melbourne and North are facing in keeping up with the rest of the competition.

In operating revenue for last year the Demons were ranked 13th and North 16th - with both clubs raking in only a third of what Collingwood did ($63 million) - while in stadium returns North was ranked 12th and Melbourne last with the Kangaroos making jut $6.3 million and Melbourne $5.9 million while West Coast made $17 million, Collingwood $14.3 million and Fremantle $13.7 million from its home games.

In sponsorship revenue the two clubs were ranked 14th and 15th last year - above only St Kilda - while in club memberships they were ranked 10th (North) and 13th (Melbourne) although North's figure was boosted as fans reacted to the club's decision to stay in Melbourne and not move to the Gold Coast, with the Roos' membership tipped to fall this season.

And in terms of actual revenue from their memberships the two clubs are ranked 15th and 16th while on overall profitability over the past five seasons the Kangaroos are ranked 11th and Melbourne 14th.

The other club that is struggling badly across all the same categories is Port Adelaide, which is the only non-Victorian team that is not outperforming the bulk of the Victorian clubs off the field with the exceptions of financial powerhouses Collingwood, Essendon and Hawthorn.

But Demetriou said Port would be given help, the same as Melbourne and the Kangaroos, adding that any club was capable of turning around its financial performance.

"We have an issue with Port Adelaide at the moment but it was only a few years ago we had an issue with Fremantle and look how they are going at the moment," he said.

"Only a few years ago we were talking about Fremantle being in a difficult (financial) situation but look at them now - they have the highest sponsorship of any club and the highest corporate revenues."