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Football Federation Australia (FFA) will open official negotiations with TV broadcasters in April to discuss the next A-League broadcast deal.
The FFA, who have reportedly been in contact with a group of parties interested in the A-League broadcast rights, is expecting interest from the free-to-air channels to help stimulate an improved deal on the current four-year, $160 million one which expires in mid-2017.
The current deal sees Fox Sports cover all games live, while SBS holds the free-to-air rights for the A-League, showing one game per week on Friday nights. While Fox Sports is expected to continue as the league’s pay-TV provider, there is expected to be plenty of competition for the free-to-air rights.
Channel Nine is reportedly interesting in negotiating with the FFA, while Channel Ten, which has garnered great ratings with its coverage of the Big Bash over summer, is set to be a key player in the negotiations.
“I think what we’ve shown with Big Bash is that we have the ability to innovate and do things differently,” Paul Anderson, Network Ten chief executive, told Fairfax Media.
“We’ve shown that if you have an alignment with the sporting body about the direction of the code and you work together for a mutually beneficial outcome, then lots of things become possible.”
The news comes after last week’s announcement from the FFA of a new strategic plan for 2016-2019 which aims to create a greater engagement in the A-League.
“The four-year strategic plan represents a significant shift in emphasis towards our showcase competition, the Hyundai A-League,” said FFA Chairman Steven Lowy.
“This is primarily about broadcast rights and commercial partnerships, which are the economic foundation of football around the world.”
The FFA announced a number of key points at the launch of the strategic plan, including a centralised approach to recruiting marquee players for the A-League.
“There is impatience from all levels of the game to do more, and do it quickly,” said Lowy. “That’s good. It’s healthy.
“It shows our game is brimming with enthusiasm and that there’s a hunger for success.
“The upcoming renegotiation of our broadcast arrangements will be critical to funding our four-year strategy, but some projects can’t wait until we wrap up that new deal.”
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