Nobody in the press conference has asked for this point to be clarified yet. Surely one of the journos would ask how many games, which states etc.
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Sort of brings it in-line with the NRL on Nine.
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Gil just mentioned that for SA/WA viewers there will be no changes to the current deal in terms of home team games on FTA, even mentioning there will be less âholdbacksâ (delayed games).
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I took that as the 2 hours mentioned earlier rather than the 2:30 it is now.
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Under the current AFLW broadcast deal, Fox Footy simulcasts live Sevenâs coverage of AFLW grand final complete with Sevenâs graphics and commentary. From 2025 to 2031 seasons, Fox Footy will be able to show the AFLW GF (on delay) with its own graphics and commentary. Tiny difference.
I think it still give room for AFLW home and away season to grow further in the next nine years.
The issue with this deal is by 2031 the value of the FTA portion of the deal will be worth a lot less than what is paid for⌠itâs kind of foolish for the AFL to do a 7 year extension. The landscape will be incredibly different.
And to those who say the AFL didnât want a 5 year deal. For all we know Seven and fox could have come in adding on the extra 2 years that sweetened the deal.
All we can do is speculate.
Statement from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan
We have the best partners,
The best athletes,
The best supporters.
People go, they watch, and they love it.
We saw it on the weekend what it means to people,
The connection, the belonging, the passion
And through our new partnership today the investment will go back into the best game in the world.
To continue to make it accessible and affordable,
To keep ticket prices down.
To invest in facilities, for AFLW, women and girls, changerooms and grounds,
To help your local club be the best it can be.
To be there for footy on all levels.
I want to again thank you all for your commitment to Australian Football. You have all been incredible partners. The professional and personal relationships we have built together over many years is something our game truly values.
Today is a moment when everyone involved in footy at every level should take pride in what it means to so many people in Australia.
We are a game where today 1 in every 22 Australians are members of an AFL club.
A game where there are 15 million supporters who have been treated to the most incredible Toyota AFL Premiership season as we bounced back from Covid.
And then when we thought it couldnât be any better, it has.
We experienced the greatest opening finals round of all time that resulted in record TV ratings and sell-outs in three of the four games.
We are a game where we have the largest number of paid female athletes in the country and where all 18 clubs are represented in the AFLW for the first time.
We are a game where 1.7 million people participate in some way each year.
A game that impacts on communities right across Australia, in every town, in every city.
Todayâs announcement places enormous value on the ability of Australian football to build on its sense of belonging and connection.
This partnership is about providing a legacy that not only aggregates viewership and reach but helps footy bring people and communities together.
We are very excited by what this universal partnership can deliver and the outcomes that it will produce for our fans.
It will provide a level of financial security for our clubs and players to continue to attract the best athletes and coaches and ensure they have an environment where they can be their best.
I want to thank the players and the clubs for continuing to make our game what it is.
We want to be the game for everyone. And this partnership will help us to do more to engage with all communities, in all states and territories and across indigenous and culturally diverse communities.
This partnership will provide unprecedented levels of financial support to invest more in ensuring every person who wants to play footy will be able to play footy.
It will allow us to invest heavily in expanding our reach into the local community and also to invest in the next generation through more digital products that are targeted at attracting kids and providing a pathway to engaging physically with our game.
And importantly this announcement means we will have at least the same number of free to air games on the Seven Network.
I want to say that again â we will have at least the same number of Free to Air games.
This partnership is an incredible result. Unprecedented and the biggest in Australian sport.
Let me outline how it will work.
It is a seven-year partnership from 2025 to the end of the 2031 season.
The AFL continues to have full control of the production of the fixture, including the scheduling time of the AFL Grand Final. This is important to continue to provide fans certainty and ensuring the right mix of match ups and timeslots.
Broadcast live and free nationally on the Seven Network and 7+ digital will be AFL on Thursday nights, Friday nights, selected Saturday nights, Sunday afternoons, Marquee matches, the Brownlow Medal, all AFL Finals and the AFL Grand Final.
- The first 15 rounds of the AFL Premiership Season to feature Thursday night matches on the Seven Network and 7+ digital
- Saturday night matches in the last eight rounds
- All marquee matches will be live and free (Dreamtime, Anzac Eve, Anzac Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Queenâs Birthday) plus at least three additional marquee matches - such as the season opener and Queenâs Birthday Eve.
- Broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo will be every single AFL / AFLW home and away match, every AFL / AFLW final (excluding the AFL Grand Final), all pre-season matches â and all with their own Fox Footy commentary teams. Foxtel / Kayo will also broadcast all AFL events including the AFL draft and Awards nights (excluding the Brownlow).
- Foxtel / Kayo will own Saturday in the first eight rounds of each AFL season, broadcasting exclusively live all games in all timeslots, which the exception of Anzac Eve, Anzac Day and Dreamtime if they were to fall on a Saturday.
- We acknowledge Foxtelâs investment in Kayo to bring the leading sports streaming product to all Australians â and we are witnessing the growth every week.
- Outside Victoria, the match involving the local team will be broadcast live into the local market on the Seven Network and 7+ digital except for selected matches on holdbacks.
- At least 30 NAB AFLW home and away games, AFLW finals and the AFLW grand final will be live and free on the Seven Network and 7+ digital with local market substitution rules. ALL NAB AFLW matches and events will also be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo.
- All Free to Air games mirrored and available on 7+ digital in all local markets.
- In addition, our partnership with Telstra is extending and by the end of this agreement we will have celebrated 30 years with Telstra as our digital and technology partner, connecting fans to the game they love anywhere, anytime on any platform.
- Through this new deal Telstra will be building on their investment into Marvel Stadium and extending into innovation and our digital offerings through the AFL / AFLW apps and all 18 clubsâ websites.
The total agreement we are announcing today with our broadcast partners covers seven seasons from Season 2025 â until the end of the 2031 season and will deliver footy a financial return of $4.5 billion.
Footy is the greatest game in the world, we have the best broadcast partners, and our announcement today is the biggest partnership in the history of Australian sport
On behalf of the AFL, we are very proud to once again be hand in hand with the Seven Network, Foxtel, Kayo and Telstra.
KEY POINTS OF THE AFLâS NEW DEAL
- The deal will run for seven years, from 2025 to 2031
- It is worth $4.5 billion - the biggest sports broadcast rights deal in Australian history
- The same number of games will be broadcast on free-to-air TV each season
- The AFL will retain control of the timing of the Grand Final
- Seven and 7+ Digital will broadcast Thursday night games in each of the first 15 rounds of the season
- All marquee matches will be live and free on Seven (Dreamtime, Anzac Day Eve, Anzac Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Queenâs Birthday) plus at least three additional marquee matches - such as the season opener and Queenâs Birthday Eve
- At least 30 NAB AFLW home and away games, AFLW finals and the AFLW Grand Final will be live and free on Seven and 7+ Digital
- All AFL and AFLW home and away games and finals (excluding the AFL Grand Final) will be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo, with their own commentary teams
- Foxtel and Kayo will exclusively broadcast a âSuper Saturdayâ of games in each of the first eight rounds of the season (except Anzac Day Eve, Anzac Day and Dreamtime at the 'G if they fall on Saturday)
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Sounds like Paramount was willing to throw in $6b/10 years. I think that sounds like a huge investment. But then Seven managed to beat it.
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Brownlow only on 7.
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I highly doubt Olympics, as NBC have them until 2032 in the US.
as much as I dislike BT and co. FFS
I wonder what will happen to the saturday games in SA/WA, delayed for two hours?
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Still want to know the details about this.
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Not in the Australian market they do not.
Totally independent to anything that happens here
Think the point they were trying to make is that if CBS is broadcasting the olympics, then economics of scale make it much cheaper for Ch10 to take it on too here locally (the costs outside of the rights themselves)
I do have 1 question.
They mentioned that Super Saturday on Fox is Rounds 1-8 excluding ANZAC, Dreamtime & that 7 will broadcast Saturday Night games in rounds 16-23.
What about the Saturday games in rounds 9-15?
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In an alternative dimension: 
https://twitter.com/VinceRugari/status/1567014982952570881?t=oHfQtfuU3_3d60-F4KDgpA&s=19
Also,
https://twitter.com/CupMutual/status/1567012913176772608?t=Ut-NCA_uEwwk22oGLlXJbw&s=19
But this bid and deal was only for the Australian market. The original poster was trying to equate Paramount ANZ with the parent company. Itâs a moot point anyway. They werenât bidding for the AFL globally and they wonât be doing it for other rights either.
Perhaps @VictorianSun is on to something⌠
- All marquee matches will be live and free on Seven (Dreamtime, Anzac Day Eve, Anzac Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Queenâs Birthday) plus at least three additional marquee matches - such as the season opener and Queenâs Birthday Eve
My best guess is that some of those three additional marquee matches could take place on those midyear Saturday night slots if Seven wanted them to.
I think Dreamtime usually falls in those rounds anyway and if the Season Opener was on a Thursday (a regular Seven match) it could be that quite a few of those round 9-15 SNF fixtures could be on FTA.
Of course it could go the other way where Seven want to try Sunday night football or something and theyâre not covered at all. Think itâs just about that flexibility.
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