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Broadcasters in final negotiations for AFL rights

Final bids for the 2012 - 2016 AFL rights are being made, with the AFL and Foxtel likely to be smiling whichever way the deal falls.

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Final bids for the 2012 – 2016 AFL rights are being made, with Nine to put in a bid with the the league today.

The AFL is chasing a $1 billion deal, well up on the existing $780 million.

News Limited notes that Nine has committed to live broadcasts from next year and will allow Foxtel to simulcast all of its matches.

If Nine doesn’t land the deal, the best it can hope for is that it pushed the price up, so that its competitors are hit in the pocket. Seven and TEN are understood to have a chance to better Nine’s deal.

Fairfax today says Seven has agreed to share Friday night football with Foxtel and agreeing that Foxtel would televise all nine home-and-away games live. Four would be simulcast on Free to Air.

Under the Seven / TEN plan, the Grand Final and Brownlow Medal would remain exclusive to Free to Air.

The Age reports Channel Seven, should it prove successful, will host Friday night football in a simulcast across Australia with Foxtel in an agreement which would see the two televising identical ads.

Seven, bidding on behalf of TEN, is believed to have put forward a $400 million bid with Foxtel to pay at least $500 million – more than double its previous rights fee. TEN is expected, but not certain, to continue its two Saturday games each week, but Seven has otherwise agreed to broadcast all four.

Yesterday during a Melbourne-Gold Coast clash Seven’s Bruce McAvaney asked Dennis Cometti,”Do you think we’ll be calling in 10 years’ time, Dennis?”

“We might not be calling next year, Bruce,” Cometti replied.

“Whoops,” McAvaney said.

  • Tagged with AFL

45 Responses

  1. If Channel 9 wins the bid for AFL games, it would sound like Collingwood would own the AFL without even having to win a premiership. But it would be good in a way because it would stop a situation where SC, DDT and ONE HD have to show Saturday night AFL games until 2013.

  2. @ Phoenix727,
    I don’t know much about AFL nor NRL but the ratings at the moment don’t suggest that AFL is the most popular Television sport in Australia. And yes I do know it is the most popular sport in Australia at the turnstiles.

  4. it looks like 7 and 10 have had a falling out over this court case that is going ahead at the moment. 7 put in a solo bid in without 10. come on 9 you can do it

  5. With regards to the television coverage what happens to Adelaide and port Adelaide games (and West Coast and Fremantle) that would be shown by foxtel. will Seven Nine or Ten continue to show games as they have done for the last five years.

    Also why can’t it be like it use to be and all games be available on FTA. now with digital multichannel s they could show the remaining games across the week. after all we should be able to see the other matches.

    Also if seven wins it back they need to show the replay of Fri night at a better time rather than 6am. and show a replay of there Sunday match

    Also what happened to HD sport being on Seven Mate like promised. when the channel launched.

    Finally Nine may have NRL but don’t forget they have the Olympics in June 2012. This will cause major problems to telecasting games Live.

  6. If channel Eddie wins it will a sad day
    1.having to listen to Eddie broadcast 21 collingwood games on Friday night
    2. Dennis cometti would be lost to afl footy
    He has stated if 7 lose he will retire from calling afl games

  9. @ Craig, good point, but I doubt it – I know for sure that Seven delayed the Sandown Challenge last year, and that was held in November. Wouldn’t mind the idea of Nine getting the V8s (assuming they don’t have the AFL, and still run the NRL delayed on a Sunday) – no Seven, and no chance for Ten to impose the horror that is Greg Rust on us for more than just the AGP.

  11. From a viewer’s perspective, a switch to Nine could (& probably would) be great for football, the AFL and all footy fans! When Nine was trampled all the way to the bank to lose the previous broadcast race, it was almost suggested the situation would be reversed this time. Nine arguably has superior presentation and (hopefully) integrity to honour their bid to allow more AFL fans nationwide access to live games. There might even be some ‘footy’ back on The Footy Show!

    If only the Aussie public aka ‘the fans’ were offered input regarding what was once ‘their’ game. How many viewers have placed an AFL-related call to Foxtel (or Seven) in the last few years, only to find they have no knowledge of their own AFL broadcasts, nor those of their “broadcast partners”? What appears most important to Foxtel & Seven today is their advertising revenue, gained at your expense, with “an agreement which would see the two televising identical ads”…

    Uh Oh Demetrious!!

    This means Foxtel could (& probably will) Show ads after every goal. The result: a telecast more difficult to watch & listen to, less worth subcribing to and potentially harming the game, especially with current competition expansion. Also, No-one across Australia would receive additional free broadcasts, because Seven working with Foxtel means you either pay to view content, or risk missing out. Hence the big bucks being offered by Fox.

    The biggest winner, particularly if the current rights-holders continue, may well rest with the internet. After all, where else can all those inevitably disgruntled pay-tv subscribers and underwhelmed FTA viewers turn to in future, where else but ‘on golden Bigpond’. Depending on the ads of course… (and the price)…

  12. If the AFL get $1 billion, i wonder if they will reward the fans with cheaper ticket prices?? Doubtful i know because they’re greedy money grubs. Less people at games, more people watching tv.

  13. @Craig – I had the same idea!

    One thing that Nine will be able to do if it does somehow win the rights to the AFL, is fill all the holes in their schedule with repeats of games once people finally get tired of leaving their TV on when they show The Big Spam Theory.

  14. Peter A.: The answer is very simple for all three questions, its Australian Rules Football, its the most popular sport on Australian Television, lots of people in Australia want to watch it which is why Australian TV stations are willing to pay so much.

    That being said I don’t see either Nine or Seven/Ten being entirely enthused about getting the rights back if they’re only willing to commit to 4 games a weekend. Seven for god sake you used to air 6 of 8 games in the years before Foxtel. The AFL should demand they air more games, they’re in a position to do it its not like 9 or Seven/Ten are going to walk away from this deal.

  15. @ Peter A.,

    They are bidding for 990 Regular Season Games over the next 5 years, plus NAB Cup games + the finals. So it’s a little under $1-million dollars per game.

    When each game goes over 3 hours, it sits at a little under $300,000 an hour of programming to target quite a specific target audience in the market. That’s not actually that much to raise in ads in a national competition and a market that companies want to market towards.

  16. 3 questions

    1. Why do the AFL think it is worth this much?
    2. Why are the stations willing to pay so much?
    3. How do the stations get this money back? Ads?

    Crazy.

  17. @ Mr. Chandler, you do realise ducko’s comments were in regards to why Foxtel is spending all that money on something that isn’t its highest ratings winner.

  18. HD fans can say goodbye to decent picture quality of Nine wins. Presumably Seven won’t get it alone…then the same would happen if ONEHD isn’t going to broadcast.

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