AFL cuts media jobs and closes main studio in pivot to outsourcing
Major job cuts have hit the AFL’s media department as the league abandons some in-house production in favour of content creators and outsourcing.
The AFL has cut a number of jobs from its media arm and closed its main studio as it pivots to outsourcing to content creators.
An email sent to staff in the AFL’s media team on Wednesday made clear the league would decommission ‘Studio A’ at AFL House in Docklands, leading to redundancies among the production team.
Multiple sources told this masthead the most recent redundancies numbered at least 10 and several other staffers had left the media and commercial team since the men’s grand final in September, but the AFL would not confirm a number.
It is understood front-facing journalists and presenters are not impacted by the job losses.
The direction shift comes as part of a pivot to using external content stemming from “strategic partners” to grow the AFL’s reach including content creators and outside broadcasters.
The restructure of the media team comes as long-time respected staffer David Grossman resigned from the AFL and will depart in the New Year.
Grossman, who was highly thought of by former league boss Gillon McLachlan, has filled several strategic roles in over a decade at AFL House and has spent the last two years as general manager – clubs and scheduling, a key conduit between the league and the clubs.
The staff email, seen by this masthead, from the AFL’s executive GM of customer and commercial Bec Haagsma outlines that a newly formed ‘AFL Digital Network’ will steer league-produced content in a new direction.
This new network will be led by AFL head of content Ed Bowman with a remit “aimed at generating and growing fandom across our owned channels”, Haagsma wrote.
“Part of this new strategic change will be to decommission our main studio (Studio A) internally at AFL House. The content we create and distribute will continue to be made, but with the support of external studio providers,” Haagsma wrote.
“As a result, unfortunately, it is proposed that a number of roles within the AFL Digital team will now no longer be required, and we have communicated with those production team members today and have entered a consultation period with them.
“We are confident our new focus will continue to grow our content offering and audience, and serve our fans on the platforms they use for all their sport and entertainment content.”
Haagsma wrote that the new digital network would be “working with strategic partners (content creators, broadcasters, production companies) to commission and create content that engages key audiences beyond our current owned footprint and avid fan base”.
“This will result in a significant new investment in our social and editorial teams to upweight our engagement with fans on key channels and audiences,” the email read.
The AFL ran a weekly vodcast led by star players Tom Mitchell and Patrick Cripps on its website throughout 2025, alongside regular in-house content.
Haagsma boasted in the email that AFL and AFLW had an “enormous annual content footprint” of more than 50m video views and 180m article clicks.
The AFL has advertised for a new reporter and host to cover a staffer on parental leave.
Originally published as AFL cuts media jobs and closes main studio in pivot to outsourcing
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