There is little doubt that the next deal on broadcasting rights due for negotiation this year will shape football for the next ten years.

It may not be pretty. Amazon with Thursday night. Paramount has Friday night with the rest split between Kayo and FTA. Hell for the viewer ..but it's a possibility. And I didn't even mention Stan and Optus who will be anxious to disrupt

Could a streaming service even get the rights to telecast certain clubs.  Then there's the mobile app rights

It begins....

A good article from today's Age to kick it off

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/streaming-companies-want-to-broadcast-afl-as-players-seek-huge-pay-rises-20220419-p5aeip.html

Two of the world’s biggest streaming companies are bidding for the first time to broadcast AFL games, at the same time as the league requires significantly higher broadcast revenues to pay for the salary claims of male players and a near doubling in pay for the AFLW.

The Age can reveal that global streaming platforms Amazon and Paramount have both expressed interest in being part of the AFL’s broadcasting deal beyond 2024. Both companies have responded to a letter sent out by the AFL to gauge interest from prospective buyers.

Should the AFL be entering into agreements that will force supporters to pay for multiple streaming services.

I already pay for that many streaming services, it would be a farce if they didn’t just pick a single service to make it easier for the consumers. 
If it’s not Kayo but Stan or Amazon, so be it, but if it’s a different service for every night of the week they can forget it. Most people can’t afford that. 

The sad day is approaching where the only way to watch sport ( other than attending) will be via some sort of pay for view service.

If you wish to follow soccer it now requires a subscription to about four streaming platforms. Sure it's caused by the plethora of competitions (EPL, Champions League, World Cup etc) but it's an example of what might happen

I will just have to get used to watching games the day after…

What has happened to the syphoning laws in Australia. Having said that is & lost the footy it would not be a bad thing, maybe 10 should have a another go. 

I don't care as long as Kayo continue to show all the games

2 minutes ago, BDA said:

I don't care as long as Kayo continue to show all the games

It sounds like they may not, if Amazon get the Thursday Game. 

The real kicker will be when these companies stop people sharing subscriptions across households. Netflix has already lost subscribers for the first time, and expect to lose another 2m this qtr. Services won't fork out money for the games without expecting people to pay more than they are at the moment.

Long term the league would be better off with the average of 4 FTA games staying as it is with the other 5 games all being available on another source or 2 (as it is now)

If they split the 5 non FTA games up across various platforms they'll be asking for trouble and if the FTA content is reduced, the same

For the greater good, the league can't be too greedy looking for a cash grab (and that opportunity will present itself if Amazon & Paramount enter the fray with the big bucks)

As it stands, there are a number of AFL fans who will watch the Rugby League on Thursday evenings if the AFL don't have a game scheduled for that day

Edited April 23, 20223 yr by Macca

The league, pushed by the players and managers will sell the game to the highest bidder. 80% plus of fans will doll out more money to watch a “product” that will be further altered to suit corporate broadcasters. 

AFL Footy has lost so many people for all the reasons we are aware of. This could be just another nail in the coffin of footy as we know and love it. Fans in their thousands have stopped attending matches. In this case, the risk is that fans in their thousands will turn off their TV sets. Here in the country most folks don’t use streaming services because they can’t afford it. Pensioners, the elderly and low income folks will suffer. No longer footy but entertainment with a bunch of companies, organisations and individuals enriching themselves.

 

The unfortunate reality is that when you add the existing rights fees for AFL, NRL and cricket together no streaming company can make money in Australia. (10M households only).

Thus it has to be bundled with something that compensates for the loss.

Foxtel in taking massive losses on Sports for nigh on twenty years has left Australian sport with an unrealistic and unsustainable view of its worth

there's a version of this story rolled out every media rights deal and invariably it ends up being news corp and a fta that get the rights

every time the rights are up the afl briefs that streamers are interested; i think for international platforms it's just too small a base to invest in

51 minutes ago, hemingway said:

AFL Footy has lost so many people for all the reasons we are aware of. This could be just another nail in the coffin of footy as we know and love it. Fans in their thousands have stopped attending matches. In this case, the risk is that fans in their thousands will turn off their TV sets. Here in the country most folks don’t use streaming services because they can’t afford it. Pensioners, the elderly and low income folks will suffer. No longer footy but entertainment with a bunch of companies, organisations and individuals enriching themselves.

 

and according to an article i read fta viewing is down 18% and kayo also down about 18%

and live attendance is not being helped by the ticketing fiasco

junior football participation is also down. my grandson's team have had to combine the u12s and u13s team into the u13s comp, and last weekend the team they played was a team combined of u13s and u14s and got smashed by 93 points.

As long as the AFL CEO gets his $2 Mill a year. 
Gambling advertising will get even more intense 

They will say

“the game has never been in better shape”

6 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

and according to an article i read fta viewing is down 18% and kayo also down about 18%

and live attendance is not being helped by the ticketing fiasco

junior football participation is also down. my grandson's team have had to combine the u12s and u13s team into the u13s comp, and last weekend the team they played was a team combined of u13s and u14s and got smashed by 93 points.

Sounds like Melbourne FC, between 2006 - 2016

I can't be bothered researching it or reading charters and the like, but the AFL (or/and AFL Commission) as I understand it has dual roles in administering the premier national footballing competition and the other as 'custodians' of a game - one which is of significant and unique cultural heritage.

I find it unconscionable that the country's premier national competition is not freely accessible to all Australians, and that underprivileged citizens can't always watch their favourite team free-to-air. In the long run, that becomes detrimental to the growth of the sport. Smart minds should be thinking long and hard about how to strike the right balance, rather than just concentrating on a growth-through-cash model.

The AFLPA also has to be aware that the more that money gets diverted from grass-roots investment, the more likely the quality of the competition will decline, and so less money coming into football over the long run and then less money for its future members. I feel like there needs to be some body established which sits above both, with responsibility alone for protecting the interests of the sport itself and all of its stakeholders. 

23 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

there's a version of this story rolled out every media rights deal and invariably it ends up being news corp and a fta that get the rights

every time the rights are up the afl briefs that streamers are interested; i think for international platforms it's just too small a base to invest in

The big difference this time is that Foxtel/Kayo is preparing for a public float and they are no longer so willing to loss lead.

Believe me this one matters

45 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The big difference this time is that Foxtel/Kayo is preparing for a public float and they are no longer so willing to loss lead.

Believe me this one matters

Rupert will never get my money….

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Rupert will never get my money….

ok but at present Foxtel pay around 70% of the media rights. 

It's the FTA channels who have got the free ride

Greed is alive and well and always wins.

5 hours ago, BDA said:

I don't care as long as Kayo continue to show all the games

Lol. That’s the point. Murdoch will have to pay if you want to pay him to watch the footy.

 

Crowds might go back up again…

6 hours ago, daisycutter said:

and according to an article i read fta viewing is down 18% and kayo also down about 18%

and live attendance is not being helped by the ticketing fiasco

junior football participation is also down. my grandson's team have had to combine the u12s and u13s team into the u13s comp, and last weekend the team they played was a team combined of u13s and u14s and got smashed by 93 points.

Not sure where you got your figures from or what time frame they cover, but FTA is down 8% on last year so far, streaming is up 19%.

Edited April 23, 20223 yr by Lord Nev

Keep politics out of posts on Demonland or you’ll get a permanent holiday.