Editorial | The league is under pressure to secure the best financial deal it can, but alienating fans to gain a few extra million dollars will only harm the game. | The Age's view
As the AFL finals season kicks off, another battle is taking place behind closed doors. The AFL is in the final stages of negotiations for the right to show matches for five years from 2025. It’s a high-stakes contest that pits every free-to-air network and pay TV company Foxtel against each other.
The final deal will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is the financial lifeblood of the AFL and the many people who rely on it. While the money being offered by the various rivals will be a decisive factor, the most contentious issue might be how many games will be aired free and how many put behind a paywall, and in what states.Getty Images
The current rights, owned by Seven and Foxtel, run until the end of 2024 and are worth $946 million to the AFL over two years. Foxtel pays the larger share and is increasingly transitioning matches to its streaming arm, Kayo. Across the home-and-away season, the deal averages about 3½ matches free on Seven and 5½ games on Foxtel and Kayo.
While Nine and Ten are still believed to be in the running, sources with knowledge of the negotiations have told. But the two media companies are at loggerheads over key elements of a future arrangement, including the number of live matches shown free-to-air. Samios’ sources have said the AFL is open to allowing Seven to stream its games on its free online service 7Plus and, in return,
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