It's looking increasingly likely that there will be an increase in paywalled games to go with the new AFL broadcasting deal in 2025.
Although the current split between Foxtel and Seven is five-and-a-half paywalled to three-and-a-half free-to-air games per week, that is set to change regardless of which faction manages to agree to what is set to be a lucrative deal with the AFL.
According to The Age's Jake Niall and Zoe Samios, the focus on broadcasting will shift to paywalled services from 2025, with the likes of Network Ten/Paramount and Nine/Stan throwing their figurative hats in the ring for the rights.
Current holders Foxtel and Seven have made it clear they'd like to continue with their agreement, with the pair extending their deal throughout the pandemic via a $946 million extension that will take them through to the end of season 2024.
However, Foxtel is determined to wrestle even more control of the deal should they sign on beyond 2025.
The company is reportedly wanting to snatch all games on a Saturday to make a "Super Saturday"-Esque broadcast of all games on the day, meaning that there would be even less free-to-air viewing on Saturday.
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Additionally, Foxtel wishes to secure rights to a portion of West and South Australian teams' home games, which are typically broadcast on free-to-air locally, due to a desire to drive up customers in that market.
On the other side of the coin, the one-company bids of both Ten/Paramount and Nine/Stan are also being considered by the league.
The latter of the two reportedly wanted to snag Thursday night games however has since rubbished those reports, saying that their bid wasn't confined to just the single night and wished to broadcast on their streaming service Stan.
However, the more serious bid is by all accounts from the Ten/Paramount party, with the US-based company reportedly inviting AFL top brass to New York earlier in the year.
Paramount executive Beverley McGarvey also played down reports that her company lowballed the AFL via a $600 million offer, labelling the claims inaccurate.
It is believed that the race may narrow to just Seven/Foxtel and Ten/Paramount, with the latter offering the AFL flexibility up until the last minute over whether it wants to broadcast games on free-to-air television or their streaming service Paramount+.
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Should Foxtel secure the rights to more games, there will reportedly be an expectation that the deal will include more exclusive shows and content on Fox Footy, with Ten/Paramount also claiming to be able to show more programs surrounding the broadcast.
Either way, the feel in the air at the moment is that the shift from free-to-air to paywalled content is set to accelerate over the coming years as the rise of streaming services entrenches itself further into the footballing landscape.
…. and so ends the game of “Aussie Rules” – replaced with a cheap soap opera parody…..
The “vfl” was always the worst option for a national competition – this proves it. Beyond any doubt.