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Seven and Foxtel secure AFL rights to 2031

New AFL deal to 2031 is the biggest sports broadcast deal in Australian history at $4.5b.

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  • 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 Queen’s Birthday) plus at least three additional marquee matches – such as the season opener and Queen’s Birthday Eve
  • At least 30 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 ‘Super Saturday’ 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)
  • Bidding pushed higher due to Nine / Paramount bids, which ultimately did not succeed.

Seven West Media and Foxtel have secured the AFL broadcast rights from 2025 to 2031 in what is the biggest sports broadcast deal in Australian history, reportedly at $4.5b.

Seven statement:

SWM’s 7plus will be the new home of the AFL for Seven’s dedicated fans and advertisers, with a comprehensive package of digital rights secured with this renewal. The 7plus AFL hub will include live and replay matches as well as catch-up rights and highlights packages on video on demand, available live and free on any device, at any time. Seven will also continue to broadcast AFL games on Channel 7 and 7mate.

SWM Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with the AFL until 2031. Securing a comprehensive package of digital rights to the AFL for 7plus was our absolute focus. For the first time, fans will be able to access the best AFL games and video content, live and free, in a way that suits them.

“More importantly, this new combination of broadcast and digital means SWM will be ideally positioned to drive and capture a significant share of the growing total television market.

“Together, the AFL and Seven have made the code the #1 winter sport across the country and we look forward to working with the AFL Commission to extend the sport’s leadership.”

Seven will pay a 14% increase on the 2024 rights in 2025; with indexation over the term this represents a 3.6% compound annual growth rate in rights fees across the period.

Foxtel statement:

Foxtel Group today announced a historic rights extension with the AFL through to 2031 for its more than 4.5 million subscribers, that will see Foxtel and Kayo Sports retain their place as the home of Australia’s most popular sports.

Extending a partnership that spans more than two decades, Fox Sports and Kayo will continue to show all games live and ad-break free during play including pre-season, premiership season and final series* from 2025.

The 2022 AFL season has seen record-breaking viewership, supercharged by Australia’s sports streaming service, Kayo, with its 1.3 million subscribers and more than 50 sports at an affordable price for every Australian. The streaming generation accounts for 47% of live AFL viewing, and they will continue to enjoy wide-ranging coverage of every club, every star, and every moment on and off the field.

As part of the ground-breaking multi-year broadcast deal, for the first time Fox Sports’ popular commentary and award-winning production will be available on all games including alternate commentary feeds, renowned graphic innovations and expanded digital highlights.

Foxtel Group Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Delany said: “With the rights for the next nine years, today marks a new era in our 20-year-long relationship with the AFL as a partner of choice.”

“This extension is great news for sports fans that love Foxtel and Kayo Sports but also the AFL that relies on funding from the Foxtel Group to not only prosper at the elite level but also filter down to support their strong grass roots and community programs. It’s a game for all Australians.”

“We deliver a fan experience like no other, with no ads siren to siren at a price that all Australians can enjoy. Together with 4K on Foxtel and the endless innovation and multi-sport environment on Kayo Sports, these experiences will continue to propel the growth of the game over the next decade.”

“Through our incredible team at Fox Sports, we have no hesitation in investing in the biggest and best production capability in Australia. We will continue to bring the highest-quality analysis, shows and entertainment as well as innovation in production to record breaking audiences and in turn providing unprecedented growth to the AFL.”

Foxtel Group Chairman, Siobhan McKenna said: “I would like to thank the AFL family, including the Commission, executive team, clubs, players and all those who have invested their faith in us over the next 9 years to partner in growing and celebrating AFL.”

AFL Chief Executive Officer, Gillon McLachlan said: “Footy is the best game in the world. We have the best partners, the best athletes, the best supporters. We saw it on the weekend what it means to people, the connection, the belonging, the passion and this is an historic day for football – not just at AFL level but for football at every level.”

“Our broadcast partnership underpins our game and takes it to the millions of fans who love our sport.”

“On behalf of the AFL, we are proud to continue our partnership with Foxtel and Kayo as we take footy into the future.”

This post updates.

  • Tagged with AFL

35 Responses

  1. Hopefully the two networks look at Matthew Cox & Jordan Kounelis from SEN, they are fantastic young AFL match commentators, & Jordan is a wealth of knowledge on every Sport, he is one talent Foxtel with the sports they cover should be looking at, Howie is limited with AFL and has stated publicly his preference is Cricket

  3. Any mention of what they are doing with 4K? Hopefully a few more matches will be shown. Hopefully the entire Fox and 7 Commentary teams get a revamp. Too much of the old boys club and grandstanding. Just call the games….BT are you listening?

    1. I think that some matches involving local teams will have to be shown on a delayed telecast in local markets. I feel that this is a massive step back for the northern states.

  5. I was hoping it would be 10, so they’ve got the FTA side covered, but also they can stream it all on Paramount+, so I could ditch Kayo and then just keep the one streaming service that also offers other content, unlike Kayo which I don’t watch anything else on.

    Oh well, looks like we’re stuck with the same commentators for the next 7 years. Bummer.

    1. Both Nine and Seven will be challenged financially for the Olympics and Comm games. Both look more attractive because of both being based in Australia during the term of the next contracts. For seven, whether they get the tennis or not, one imagines they will look to abandon altogether or reduce significantly their portion of he cricket rights – keep the mens test matches but lose all or more of the BBL and perhaps scrap the Womens cricket. The Comm games in Victoria will be huge and the Brisbane 2032 Olympics will be even more massive.

  7. Crazy amounts of money. So glad can watch on Kayo without the 7 commentary on the 7 games once this commences. So good watching without ads during the game, hard to go back once you’ve had the extra commentary and analysis during the commercial breaks.

    1. Agree the no adverts each quarter is fantastic and that there’s a Kayo Digital Membership for $220 per year through the Club I support makes it even more so. Really $110 per year for Kayo as Membership before was $110 and a handful of games you go to and due to personal health reason I can’t do any more, so being able to watch all is a bonus.

      Foxtel/Kayo having their own commentators is going to be fantastic, hopefully we might get Gerard Whateley commentating some games now. Some of the now radio ones hopefully coming in will enhance it all no end, as they’re more about painting the picture of what’s happening.

      1. got close to 100k for Swans / Melbourne match in Sydney – if you’re in the west probably doesn’t get much of a mention, but in east, north and inner city gets mentioned a lot.

  10. The AFL said they wanted over $600m p.a. Nine/Stan bid $500m, Paramount $600m over 10 years, not the 6 years the AFL was looking for, and the 7 that Foxtel got. It was a silent auction so it was the threat of the unsucessful bids that forced Seven/Foxtel to up the ante. For the first 8 Saturdays that aren’t special, people will have to subscribe to Kayo (what they want), go to the game, watch in a pub with Fox Sports, watch or stream delayed coverage or not watch the game (what they don’t want). According the the ABC it was Melbourne games affected. Seven and Foxtel are forking over an extra $180m p.a., and viewers will have to play for that somehow.

      3. It’s a pity though the Grand Final isn’t part of that, would have really liked the choice to watch the Grand Final without ad-breaks during the quarters rather than with adverts on Seven. Ah well it is what it is I guess, maybe one day the time will come when the FTA broadcaster and STV/Streamer can both have it (I’ll be 70 when these new rights end so still around I hope).

    1. Do not see Nine losing the tennis. Seven were clumsy to lose it in the first place. Hubris. Seems pretty clear they will make a serious bid for it but presumably they need to lose the cricket to afford it. Nine clearly love the tennis and will have the advantage in negotiations being the current holder.

  13. Would have been nice to see it return to 9 or 10 I guess we are stuck with it being on seven forever I guess. The least they could do is get a new on air presentation graphics and new presenting style to refresh things abit

    1. Didn’t 7 have a graphics refresh last year when they went with logos instead of team names & matched the colour of team jumpers with their score board?

      Fox also had a graphics refresh this year but that was all of their sports not just AFL

  14. I do have 1 question.

    They mentioned that Super Saturday on Fox is Rounds 1-8 excluding ANZAC, Dreamtime etc & that 7 will broadcast Saturday Night games in rounds 16-23.

    What about the Saturday games in rounds 9-15? What’s happening with those

    1. What makes you say that? It’s pretty much the status quo we have now, just with some tweaking of the schedule and Fox allowed to commentate all games.

  16. At the end of the day it comes down to the highest bidder. In 2011, Network 10 pulled out of AFL bids, instead the rights went to 7/Fox for $1.25 billion. That year saw 10 went downhill with massive cuts under Murdoch & the board. 10 simply never recovered after losing AFL in Oct 2011. And as the years go by, the money goes up significantly. The massive point is Rupert Murdoch. He has too much control on the AFL for many years now. Too much money making from AFL and the News Corp.
    9/Stan had made the last minute chance for a bid, but unfortunately the bid was trumped by 7/Fox.

  17. Kind of expected result i think. Only hope it comes with fresh commentators too on both platforms. The bias we’ve seen needs to stop. BTs time is up. Some will disagree but enough is enough. Good to see 7 get digital rights too though. Being able to watch through 7plus will be great. No more Border Security 😂

    2. 7 had a great team until 9 and 10 took the rights and then lost a few through Foxtel I was disappointed loved the 90s commentary for example sandy and dippa

    3. Same. Channel 7’s AFL commentary used to be enjoyable back in the good old days from 1956-2001, but since 7 became sole FTA telecaster in late 2011 their commentary hit rock bottom. On many occasions, I had to avoid watching AFL on 7 becuase of BT’s self-induglence. Instead, I listen to the 6PR Radio.
      Nevertheless, the time for streaming on 7+ is well overdue.

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