AFL to announce $2 billion TV rights deal ........... (Age)

[one-eyed]

AFL close to $2b broadcast deal

  Caroline Wilson
     The Age
    August 17, 2015 - 8:56PM

The AFL is on the verge of announcing an historic new broadcast deal potentially worth $2 billion over six years with the Seven Network and Foxtel starting in 2017.

League chief Gillon McLachlan was finalising the finer points of the record agreement with News Corp, Channel Seven and Fox bosses on Monday night, with an announcement looking to come as early as Tuesday and certainly this week.

In the restructured deal long-time AFL broadcaster the Seven Network is expected to broadcast less games but continue to hold exclusive rights to the grand final, which would remain a daytime event despite a strong push by Seven to stage the game at night or in twilight.
Advertisement

As reported by Fairfax Media, Seven has come to terms with the AFL to go head-to-head with Channel Nine Thursday night NRL games on 12 occasions each home-and-away season.

However, Channel Seven will not television four games every weekend, with Foxtel expected to take the spare Saturday afternoon games televised when there is no Thursday night fixture. Seven will also televise all public holiday games as part of its premium package and hold the right to Good Friday football should it eventuate.

Under the new deal Seven would continue to televise Friday night and Saturday night games, as well as the Sunday afternoon game currently starting at 3.20pm. But on the occasions when there was no Thursday night football that extra game would be scheduled on Saturday afternoon and probably televised on pay TV.

With the NRL announcing its bombshell new four-year free-to-air agreement with Channel Nine last week, stunned and disappointed News Corporation chiefs have appeared determined to reach a deal with the AFL. News chief Rupert Murdoch met McLachlan in Sydney last week, with McLachlan and the AFL's bankers running negotiations over the weekend.

Unless Channel Ten becomes involved by the on-selling of a Saturday afternoon game to the former AFL free-to-air broadcaster there would be marginally more games on pay television in the new agreement. But it is understood that Seven would continue to televise all finals and could also buy exclusive rights to the Brownlow Medal count.

The new media rights deal will run from 2017 until at least the end of season 2021 but looks likely to be extended until 2022, which is the preferred option for all the AFL broadcasters. This should prove a massive windfall for the AFL clubs, with more than half currently failing to make profits and more than one-quarter struggling with crippling multimillion-dollar debts.

It will inevitably lead to a robust negotiation between players, clubs and the AFL over a division of the record-breaking spoils. The AFL is understood to have offered one Saturday afternoon game each week to Channel Nine in recent days but that deal did not eventuate, with Foxtel taking that game instead.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-close-to-2b-broadcast-deal-20150817-gj199j.html#ixzz3j4b7516w

[WilliamPowell]

Pressed just finished

New deal for 6 years (2017-2022)

$2.508 billion

FTA on Seven

If you don't have PayTv bad luck, over the length of the new deal less games on FTA. Only 4 games a week on certain occasions

From 2017 all games on FTA will be in HD

May come in sooner depends on govt regulations

[Yeahright]

If you don't have PayTv bad luck, over the length of the new deal less games on FTA. Only 4 games a week on certain occasions

What will they be doing when the deal starts? Only Friday night, Saturday night and one of saturday/sunday day games?

[WilliamPowell]

If you don't have PayTv bad luck, over the length of the new deal less games on FTA. Only 4 games a week on certain occasions

What will they be doing when the deal starts? Only Friday night, Saturday night and one of saturday/sunday day games?

Seven will broadcast
Friday night
Saturday night
Sunday arvo

The Saturday arvo game they currently do on delay they wont be doing

Then there will be 5-6 Thursday night games that they will show. They will also show any games that fall on public holidays.

So some weeks they will have 4 other weeks they will have 3.

Foxtel has the option of on selling one of the Saturday arvo games 3.20pm start to FTA

So if 

[Dougeytherichmondfan]

Whooping deal, don't know how the AFL gets it done - would be one of, if not the highest TV rights deal on a per capita basis of any sport in the world.

I heard they were pushing for more like 8 - 12 Thursday night games.

Lack of HD is a joke and needed to be addressed, 2017 not good enough imo.

Looks like I'm gunna have to stop going round to the folks house to watch the foxtel broadcast and fork out for it myself. Ugh, Rupert Murdoch must be laughing all the way to the bank...

[WilliamPowell]

Lack of HD is a joke and needed to be addressed, 2017 not good enough imo.

Have found out the reason Ch7 can't show HD on their main channel has to do with the fact that govt regulation prevents it. Digi TVs that are not HD Digi TVs would not receive a proper signal so people with say a set top box connected to an old TV would not get the broadcast. Govt regulations dictate that live broadcasts of programs on the anti-siphoning list that must be broadcast on the networks main stations cannot be in HD

The current anti-siphoning rules also prevent Ch7 showing certain AFL games on 7mate their HD channel

reports in the last few days suggest Malcolm Turnbull as communications minister is looking at relaxing these rules

I kid you not

[WilliamPowell]

AFL signs $2.5 billion broadcast deal
 
Date August 18, 2015 - 7:44PM
Max Mason and John Stensholt
Rupert Murdoch has directly intervened and pushed the value of Australian Football League broadcast rights to unprecedented heights, agreeing for News Corporation to pay about $1.3 billion of a record $2.508 billion six-year deal the league has struck.

News Corp has joined with Seven West Media and Telstra to sign the biggest sports rights deal in Australian television history, securing vital pay-TV rights for Foxtel.

Seven will telecast an average of 3.5 matches per round on free-to-air TV in a deal that will begin in 2017, while Foxtel will maintain its rights for all nine matches and Telstra the digital rights.

The $2.5b deal is the largest Australian sports rights deal in history.
 
Telstra will pay about $300 million of the record deal over the six years, and broadcast AFL matches over its planned Telstra TV service and to handsets and digital devices, while Seven will pay $840 million in cash and $60 million in contra.

News Corp will also have the right to sub-license a Saturday afternoon game which is believed to be worth around $30 million per season, which will almost certainly go to Network Ten should the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sign off on a mooted deal for Foxtel to take a 15 per cent stake in the struggling network.

Mr Murdoch has been in Australia for more than a week, a time during which talks with the AFL accelerated rapid speed after the NRL moved on Monday last week to sign a $925 million free-to-air deal with Nine Entertainment Co.

That move meant NRL chief executive Dave Smith still needs to directly negotiate with News Corp's Fox Sports for pay-TV rights. Mr Murdoch said News would engage with the NRL in due course but signalled it was likely the global giant would pay more for AFL than NRL.

"We've always preferred Aussie rules and we've always believed this is the premium code in Australia," he said, while adding he would not personally take part in the NRL talks. "I guess we will engage with the NRL in time."

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, also present for the announcement on Tuesday in Melbourne, said his company would consider the sub-licence option, for a match beginning at 320pm each Saturday, shortly. "We've got the option to do that and we will do what it's in the best interest of the AFL and News Corporation."

The News Corp duo were joined by Seven chairman Kerry Stokes and CEO Tim Worner, Seven Group CEO Ryan Stokes, Telstra CEO Andy Penn and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and his chairman Mike Fitzpatrick to announce the monumental deal.

Mr Stokes said the Seven move showed its "commitment to the future of broadcast television", while Mr Worner said the new agreement for the 2017-2022 seasons "makes strong business and financial sense for us."

The record breaking agreement is a defining moment for Mr McLachlan, who took up the top job at the AFL just over 15 months ago and has been at the AFL since 2000, succeeding the respected Andrew Demetriou.

"I said when I became CEO that it is my job to deliver for four masters, supporters, clubs, players and community, Mr Mclachlan said. "I am really delighted that this agreement delivers for those four pillars of our game."

The current deal, which expires at the end of next season, is worth $1.25 billion over the five years between 2012 and 2016.

Mr McLachlan and the AFL stepped up negotiations last week after the NRL surprised many when it announced a deal for its free-to-air broadcast rights in what was seen as a snub to Foxtel.

Nine had been in the running for the AFL Saturday afternoon game. However, it is understood that a $30 million price tag per annum the AFL placed upon the match was more than it wanted to pay for a game not considered marquee.

He said it was vital the AFL shared the proceeds of the deal with clubs, players and other parts of the game, but would not be drawn on whether the league would now move to buy Etihad Stadium in Melbourne from its ownership consortium of superannuation and investment funds.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/afl-to-announce-2b-broadcast-deal-20150818-gj1ppz.html#ixzz3jA0uBk38

[WilliamPowell]

AFL signs new six-year, $2.5 billion broadcast rights deal

Travis King and Ben Guthrie   
August 18, 2015 7:02 PM
THE AFL will reap a major financial windfall after striking a colossal new six-year, $2.508 billion broadcast rights agreement.

The new deal will see Channel Seven, Foxtel and Telstra continue as the League's broadcasters under the new deal, which will run from 2017 to 2022.

The current deal expires at the end of the 2016 season. 

The existing deal was effectively worth $250 million a year; the new deal is 67 per cent bigger at $418 million a year.

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and CEO Gillon McLachlan were on hand to announce the deal, and they were joined by News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes and Telstra CEO Andy Penn, among others.

the press conference at AFL House revealed:

• Channel Seven will broadcast matches in HD free-to-air from the start of the new deal in 2017. Kerry Stokes said Channel Seven is looking into broadcasting in HD before the new deal kicks in.

• The AFL retains full control of the fixture, including whether the Grand Final is scheduled as a day, twilight or night match.

• The AFL fixture will remain at 22 rounds, with nine games each weekend.

• Outside of Thursday night matches, public holiday and bye/split rounds, the competition will feature:
 
   - One Friday night match
   - Two Saturday afternoon matches
   - One Saturday twilight match
   - Two Saturday night matches
   - Two Sunday afternoon games
   - One Sunday twilight game

• Foxtel will continue to broadcast every game, except the AFL Grand Final, live on Pay TV.

• Foxtel holds the right to sub-licence one game per round each weekend in the Saturday 3.20pm AEST timeslot to a free-to-air provider, if it chooses.

• Telstra will once again hold the rights for hand-held devices, AFL.com.au and the club digital network. Telstra will broadcast every match on mobile devices.

McLachlan said the historic deal delivered for clubs, players, supporters and the community.

He said the deal would provide financial security for clubs and players to "allow future growth and certainty".

McLachlan said the deal would see resources directed towards the foundations of the game, while growing into new communities to "create new generations of supporters, members, players and volunteers".

The League struck the existing five-year, $1.25 billion agreement in April 2011, less than a year before the deal came into effect for the 2012 season.

Gillon McLachlan, Kerry Stokes, Mike Fitzpatrick and Rupert Murdoch reveal the deal. Picture: AFL Media

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said the new deal will help the League grow its reach over the next decade.

"We need to continue to be the first choice for our elite and talented athletes, we need to strengthen our clubs at all levels, and we need to invest in the community level of our game," Fitzpatrick said.

"This agreement with News Corporation, the Seven Network and Telstra will allow us to make the right investment to keep our game strong."

He thought it was important the players "get a fair deal out of this".

Murdoch, whose company is yet to negotiate a deal with the NRL, said he believed the AFL was Australia's "premium" football code.

"This is a very significant investment for us. We've always believed that this is the premium code in Australia – it's the national game," Murdoch said.

"We're very happy to be doing this. We believe in the strength of the game and we'll do everything we can to make it stronger."

With the new deal, Channel Seven will show matches in high definition on free-to-air TV from 2017.

But Kerry Stokes revealed the broadcaster would search for ways to broadcast in HD before the next agreement kicks off.

"It's a matter under review. It's been a technical issue for the network, as you're aware, and we're reviewing it again this summer with the hope that we can find a way of bringing high definition to Melbourne," he said.

Stokes also backed Good Friday football: "We'd love to play football every day of the week – Good Friday included."

He said his network have made "suggestions" about switching the traditional afternoon Grand Final bouncedown to a later timeslot.

"We did make the point that … twilight games happen to get more ratings than day games do," Stokes said.

"And if one wants to be the most watched Grand Final in Australia it would seem sensible it might be at twilight. I hasten to say we have not put any conditions.

"The AFL control the schedule and we accept that."

Telstra boss Andy Penn said the milestone deal would see his company "continuing to provide you with the technology and the digital innovation that is really going to just transform the experience of fans watching AFL footy in the future".

The new agreement comes a week after the NRL confirmed a new four-year, $925 million agreement for free-to-air TV coverage with the Nine Network.

The rugby league deal has accelerated negotiations for the AFL rights.

Nine's deal with the NRL will involve four free-to-air games per week.

The NRL hopes its total broadcast rights deal will be worth around $1.7 billion once a pay TV deal is reached.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-18/afl-on-the-verge-of-signing-new-tv-deal

[WilliamPowell]

Fans' five-minute guide to broadcast deal

Ashley Browne and Jennifer Phelan   
August 18, 2015 7:46 PM


THE BASICS
A brilliant deal for the AFL that cements its standing as the no.1 sport in the country. The $2.5 billion dollar deal will underpin the game's operations for six years from 2017 through to 2022.

Seven retains the free-to-air TV rights, Fox Footy's blanket coverage continues and the digital rights remain with Telstra.

After the NRL went early in securing its new deal, the AFL rolled up its sleeves and nutted out its own deal in less than a fortnight.

DIGITAL RIGHTS
Telstra retains the rights and will remain the AFL's partner, as well as delivering every game live, every week, to fans on the move across the country through the Live AFL App.

It will hold the rights for all hand-held devices, the club digital network, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and to the AFL website, AFL.com.au.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR VIEWERS
Over the course of the season there will be 11 fewer home and away games on free-to-air TV, with Thursday night football set to be significantly enhanced as a showpiece fixture.

The other major change is one of the Saturday afternoon fixtures is moved to 3.20pm, designed for Foxtel to on-sell to a free to air network as a lead in to the 6pm news.

WILL FOOTY BE BROADCAST IN HD?
Yes. Foxtel has made high definition coverage available to subscribers for a number of seasons and now the Seven Network has joined the party.

Network chairman Kerry Stokes said HD would be introduced "certainly" from the start of 2017, with a slight possibility it may start next season.

GRAND FINAL DAY
The biggest game of the season will continue to feature live on the Seven Network in every state and territory.

While the AFL will continue to have full control over the production of the fixture and the scheduling of the big decider, Stokes said Seven had "made suggestions" without demanding conditions about its timing.

"We did make the point it seems to us in our experience that twilight games happen to get more ratings than day games do, and if one wants to be the most watched Grand Final in Australia, it would seem sensible it might be a twilight," Stokes said.

Watch this space.

THE DRAFT, THE BROWNLOW
The Brownlow remains with Seven, while the National Draft will continue to belong to Foxtel and screened on Fox Footy.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR CLUBS AND PLAYERS
A delicate collective bargaining agreement negotiation is next on the AFL agenda, with the players resolute in their desire to earn a fixed percentage of the League's revenue.

The clubs will also anticipate a great annual disbursement, but the League itself has already flagged that community and grassroots football will continue to be well-funded.

FOOTY IN NSW/QLD/SA/WA
While every game will remain available live on Foxtel and through Telstra, additional focus will remain on fans based outside of Victoria.

Games involving the Sydney Swans, Greater Western Sydney, the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast will continue to be shown live on free to air television.

In Western Australia and South Australia, games that feature West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide and Port Adelaide will also be shown live on free to air, but three matches for each team in the home-and-away season will be broadcast on delay.

WHO WILL BUY FOXTEL'S EXTRA GAME?
Channel Ten is desperate to acquire whatever big-time sport it can. Given the affiliation it will likely have with Foxtel (ACCC approval pending) they would be a good chance to get back into the AFL broadcasting scene for the first time since 2011.

WHAT THEY SAID
"The AFL’s challenge is to stay Australia’s game, and this new agreement for the next 6 years gives our game a chance to invest in the future. This is about investment in supporters, our clubs, our players and the community. The job of my team is to provide a recommendation to the Commission about what's the right balance in all of those four, and I don't think you prioritise one over the other, it's getting the balance right and making the right investment decisions, and that's going to be a key priority over the next 12 to 18 months." – Gillon McLachlan, AFL CEO.

"The last ten years have been about expansion and investment in the AFL competition. Over that period, we added two new teams and invested in stadiums and infrastructure at the elite and community level around Australia. Senior AFL football is now played in every state and territory. Our challenge over the nextdecade is to make the right investments to grow our reach into every state, region, town and community." – Mike Fitzpatrick, AFL Commission Chairman.

"At the end of the day, this whole agreement is about one basic thing – it's about the football. Sometimes we lose sight of that. But we'd like to play football every day of the week, Good Friday included. You could raise some extra money for the Good Friday Appeal and that would be appreciated." – Kerry Stokes, executive chairman of Seven Group Holdings and executive chairman of Seven Network.

"It's a very significant investment for us. We've always believed this is the premium code in Australia, it's the national game. We're also committing to and all our platforms support AFL everywhere, in every state, so we're very happy to be doing this, we believe in the strength of the game and we're doing everything we can to make it stronger." – Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corporation and 21st Century Fox.

"We believe Aussie Rules is a great game, and our intention is to make it even greater. It's an influential game and we intend to make it even more influential by complementing a wonderful sport with the powerful platforms we have in this country, and that includes the power of print as well as the depth of digital. We will ensure more people see more games of football and its reach is extended." – Robert Thompson, CEO of News Corporation.

"We've had a wonderful partnership and we've been able to bring live footy to every mobile device in Australia, to every fan in Australia that's on the move. If you watch it on a Telstra Network, it will be even better again but we're very much looking forward to continuing to provide you with the technology and the digital innovation that is going to transform the experience of fans watching AFL footy in the future." – Andy Penn, CEO of Telstra.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-18/fans-fiveminute-guide-to-broadcast-deal

[Yeahright]

If you don't have PayTv bad luck, over the length of the new deal less games on FTA. Only 4 games a week on certain occasions

What will they be doing when the deal starts? Only Friday night, Saturday night and one of saturday/sunday day games?

Seven will broadcast
Friday night
Saturday night
Sunday arvo

The Saturday arvo game they currently do on delay they wont be doing

Then there will be 5-6 Thursday night games that they will show. They will also show any games that fall on public holidays.

So some weeks they will have 4 other weeks they will have 3.

Foxtel has the option of on selling one of the Saturday arvo games 3.20pm start to FTA

So if

Cheers

[Penelope]

so the AFLs response to the NRL basically giving exclusive broadcast rights to free to air, is to reduce the games free to air.

I have also noticed that where they have have mede replays available on line to everyone in the past, it is now only telstra subscribers who pay extra who can view them.

Get stuffed cads.
dumb rooster rashes.

[Yeahright]

so the AFLs response to the NRL basically giving exclusive broadcast rights to free to air, is to reduce the games free to air.

I have also noticed that where they have have mede replays available on line to everyone in the past, it is now only telstra subscribers who pay extra who can view them.

Get stuffed cads.
dumb rooster rashes.

Replays are still free after 12 hours. I think they changed how to get to them though

[Penelope]

still getting an afl live pass required message. is there a back door in?

[Smokey]

still getting an afl live pass required message. is there a back door in?

You might want to reconsider the wording of that last question!   

[Penelope]

nope