AFL TV rights deal: What broadcast deal means for fixture, Tasmania bid and more
He’s an up and coming footy caller, she’s an AFLW star and special commentator. Could this husband-wife broadcast team be the next stars of TV footy coverage?
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Not only does footy’s new broadcast deal mean $4.5 billion will flow into the game - it effectively means a swag of new call teams each weekend, with Fox Footy to broadcast with their own commentary crews from 2025 onwards.
It’s a welcome shift, according to feedback in the wake of Australia’s biggest ever sporting broadcast deal.
So with more chairs to soon fill, who could soon be on the field to call the action?
ADAM PAPALIA
Has been Fox’s man in the west for a little while but is considered by many to be one of their best. The new deal could mean more prominence for the caller - who also works on 6PR - whose calling flow has been noted within the industry.
LEIGH MONTAGNA
The former Saints hard man has been building his craft on Fox Footy and Triple M in recent times and has a prominent calling role on the small screen for AFL Women’s. His accuracy and game sense has been well-noted.
CORBIN MIDDLEMAS
A rising star in the media space who is yet to move into television commentary, but he is well on the radar of the head honchos in the business.
A strong news sense and accurate focus on the game, with a breadth of experience across a range of sports.
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JACK HEVERIN
A man-of-all-sports - from AFL to basketball to lawn bowls, Heverin has done it all. Well-researched and prepared and has valuable experience in live environments.
JESS WEBSTER
Play-by-play commentator Jess Webster has been steadily making a name for herself on Fox Footy and ABC Radio, having started as a boundary rider and moving into the box alongside the likes of Kelli Underwood. Researched and analytical in her approach.
JOEL PETERSON
Experienced radio caller and MC who was a longtime commentator at FreshFM in Bendigo before rising up the ranks at the ABC. Won the 2018 Clinton Grybas award at the Australian Football Media Awards - given to emerging talent in the industry.
KERRYN PETERSON
The current captain of Carlton, Peterson has shone in the special comments box during AFLW matches and has impressed with her insight. Wife of commentator Joel, could we see the husband-wife combo calling more AFLW matches together into the future?
ANTHONY HUDSON
He’s top of the tree for many, for a reason. And his voice has been missing from prime time televisions in recent years with Channel 7 holding rights on Friday and Saturday nights.
He’s had a home on SEN during those times but having him back in the bright lights will be great for the game.
BEN CAMERON
Talented radio caller and podcast host from the ABC who had made a name for himself in Western Australia. Could he make a similar leap to former colleague Alistair Nicholson?
BRETT SPRIGG
Another rising gun from the ABC stable. Sprigg is now a well known voice on the radio and could be another rising star who can make the switch to television.
JORDAN KOUNELIS
Belongs to the SEN stable. Can be heard calling A-league matches and Socceroos on the dial as well as AFL matches.
MATTHEW COCKS
Another from SEN. Currently the assistant producer for the breakfast show and commentates some games.
BEN WATERWORTH
One of Fox’s young guns who has honed his craft across a range of sports including AFL and NBL. Noted for his research and accuracy and ability to bounce off co-callers after putting in the groundwork as part of the Eastern Football League’s commentary team and then via the VFL.
JO WOTTON
A former VFL Women’s player who has moved into the commentary box with aplomb, calling AFL Women’s for 7. Brings the insight of a former player alongside the accuracy of play-by-play calling. It’s a welcome combination.
PATRICK DANGERFIELD
Expect “Danger” to be one of the players exiting the game in coming years and heading straight into the commentary box. A seasoned media performer who has dabbled in match-day roles in recent years and would slot right in to a special comments role - or even hosting.
JACK RIEWOLDT
One of Fox Footy’s favourites, and rightly so. His larrikin nature combined with more than 300 games of on-field experience delivers a special comments package unlike many others. Will be a certain starter once the new deal kicks in and his playing days are done.
MITCH ROBINSON
The polarising Lion has dived right into the online space in recent years with his vlogging and Twitch work a unique twist. A true character of the game who brings a different view to AFL both on and off the field.
Calling all commentators: Fox and 7 to go head-to-head
- Jon Ralph
The AFL is set for a bumper cash injection which will shape the game’s future after a new broadcast deal was agreed for 2025-2031.
Jon Ralph breaks down what the agreement means for footy fans across the country, with more choice than ever set to be available for TV viewers.
Ralphy answers all the key questions about how you will be able to consume football from 2025.
What’s on Fox?
Fox Footy carries every home and away game live from 2025-2031 including all men’s and women’s games and finals excluding the grand final.
In the first eight rounds of the season every Saturday game is live and exclusive on Fox Footy and Kayo excluding marquee games including Anzac Day, Anzac Eve and Dreamtime at the ‘G.
From 2025 onwards — but not in the next two years — Fox Footy will have its own commentators on every single game instead of only on Fox exclusive contests.
Fox will also cover all the awards nights.
What’s on 7?
Seven will telecast football on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as well as some Saturdays in the last eight rounds of the season.
The AFL has committed to at least the first 15 rounds of the AFL season having a Thursday night game, which Seven and Fox Footy will telecast.
Seven gets the same amount of free-to-air games as the current deal — as many as three and a half games on average across any given round.
It has all the finals, all the marquee games, the Brownlow Medal and the grand final exclusively.
It also for the first time secures streaming rights to the games it covers.
What’s it mean for SA /WA viewers?
All Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Fremantle and West Coast matches will be shown live on Fox Footy or on Channel 7.
In the current agreement three games per team per year from West Australia and South Australia are live on Fox Footy but on a 160-minute on Channel 7.
In the new deal 12 games in total across WA and South Australia will have a 120-minute delay.
So it could be that one team has four games shown on free-to-air delay and one has only two rather than three for each of Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Fremantle and West Coast.
Even in the first eight rounds of the year when Fox Footy has all games live and exclusive those teams will still get those “holdback” games on free to air on delay.
What’s it mean for QLD/ NSW viewers?
In the current deal all games in Queensland and New South Wales have been shown on one of Seven’s channels, but for the first time from 2025 onwards some games are expected to be shown on free-to-air delay.
That number is 12 across the four northern states teams — Sydney, GWS, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
So combined, there will be 12 games across those markets where games are shown live on Fox Footy but delayed on free to air by 120 minutes.
What’s it mean for streaming?
Kayo was a one-stop shop for all nine AFL games this year but from 2025 onwards Seven will have streaming access to their three or more games per weekend.
It will allow them to promote their streaming brand with highlights, live games and playback options which they haven’t been able to do in the current deal.
So if you don’t have a TV and only want to stream then you will need Kayo and the Seven app.
When will the games be played?
All the same timeslots but there will be at least 15 Thursday night games from 2025 onwards.
The AFL hasn’t specified how many Thursdays will be on show in the next two years but surely given the ratings potential they could ramp up their schedule to have 15 in 2023 and 2024 as well.
The AFL says 7.50pm is still the Friday night timeslot for the next two years but it is listening to the people and is open to bringing that forward to 7.20pm in negotiations with Channel 7.
The AFL didn’t forecast change to its timeslots across the weekend even though many people believe there are too many crossover games.
There is no detail yet on whether games might be spread out in a manner to allow more people to watch more football.
Will Fox have their own commentators and who will I see?
Fox Footy will have their own commentators from 2025 and although Gillon McLachlan said there could be negotiation to bring that forward to next year that is not expected to be the case.
So the likes of Anthony Hudson and Dwayne Russell will likely feature across prime time slots in competition with Brian Taylor, James Brayshaw and Luke Darcy to create a real point of difference.
Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany said Fox Footy was on the lookout for new commentators as part of the bid to appeal to a young and vibrant audience.
What’s new?
Nine and Ten missed out on their bids so the prospect of an Eddie McGuire-Steve Quartermaine double-act at Ten doesn’t look likely just now.
Seven says it will consider its suite of shows around its telecasts with many fans calling for a return to Talking Footy and a Sunday morning show like Game Day given Nine doesn’t have the rights and still has three weekly panel shows.
How will the AFL spend the extra cash?
Everyone will put their hand out.
The players will again ask for 28 per cent of AFL revenue and Tasmania will need about $15-$20 million a year for an annual special distribution for its team.
The football department soft cap will go up and the AFL has already pledged that 10 per cent of its revenue will go into community footy, so that number will grow too.
As much as this seems a vast fortune, the AFL’s rights escalate dramatically every five years and this deal locks the league in until 2031.
So the league will know everyone is coming hard for the war chest but once it commits money for yearly handouts — club funding, player pay deals — that money is gone so it will be financially responsible to keep cash for a rainy day.
WHAT TV RIGHTS DEAL MEANS FOR TASSIE, AFLW AND MORE
Footy’s vast new TV rights fortune will cement the AFL’s position as the most dominant, lucrative code in Australia and hand Gillon McLachlan a glorious departing legacy.
The seven-year deal gives the AFL certainty to 2031 and the numbers are massive — $550 million a season.
That’s up from the $473 million the league will reap for each of the 2023 and 2024 years.
And for every part of the football ecosystem there will be tangible benefits that should now extend to an entire state which will finally make a national game truly whole.
McLachlan and his executive team not only have a continuation of the current Fox Footy- Seven partnership -with its free to air and streaming reach – they have the financial war chest for the huge challenges ahead.
They have the financial proof to the 18 presidents that they can afford a 19th AFL team in Tasmania, as a vote approaches as early as Brownlow Medal day.
Tasmanians – and fans of a national competition with the Apple Isle involved – should be doing cartwheels at the realisation that a 19th licence that was already a warm favourite is now at prohibitively short odds.
It will take a stadium deal and a heck of a lot of hard work, but the AFL will surely now have a Tasmanian team gracing the fields of Hobart and Launceston as early as 2026.
The AFL’s players will cash in on the TV deal and so they should given the men and women are pushing for a joint collective bargaining agreement.
They currently have access to 28 per cent of forecast defined AFL revenue.
The list of million-dollar AFL mens players will skyrocket but more to the point, the dream of fully professional AFLW females, who do not have to pick between work and a football career, will become a reality.
The AFL will have room to rectify the game’s dirty secret — the players who have so far slipped through the cracks with concussions, head knocks and traumatic injuries which leave their lives irrevocably altered.
Former Dogs president Peter Gordon has been leading an AFL review into a concussion fund that would allow players to access appropriate insurance and payouts for the kind of damage that has left Daniel Venables and Patrick Bines broken and angry.
It also has no excuse not to fund the kind of studies into ACL tears in the AFL that Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane has been calling on the AFL to pursue.
Money will also flow into grassroots football and serious investment in an umpiring fraternity rocked by the Herald Sun’s exposes on harassment and lack of support.
How will it affect the day-to-day viewing habits of the fans who have flocked to games across this finals weekend and helped drive huge ratings across Seven and Fox Footy?
It will largely be status quo with some tweaks.
The AFL has dipped its toe into the waters of Thursday night football, but it is now here to stay given its monstrous popularity and spectacular ratings.
The league plans an almost-weekly calendar of Thursday night games with Seven to broadcast on free-to-air on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Fox Footy will broadcast all nine games across the weekend, with at least three games still on free-to-air TV.
It will likely drive more growth for Fox Footy and its streaming arm Kayo, which added 200,000 subscribers to June 2022 to hit a new mark of 1,312,000 subscribers.
McLachlan will depart at some stage this year with his legacy intact and so he should.
But it is the fans who are so crazy for this game and its TV product that will allow McLachlan to secure the big ticket items that will expand the competition and ensure its long-term success.
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