A-League continues to deliver sluggish ratings for Ten, Paramount+
The multimillion broadcast deal between the A-League and ViacomCBS is still struggling to draw large audiences.
The $200 million partnership between the A-League and its new broadcast partner is failing to pay off as viewer numbers continue to plummet five rounds into the season.
ViacomCBS, which owns Network Ten and Paramount+, has struggled to draw large audiences since it began airing matches last month.
For four weeks in a row the Saturday night match that airs on Ten has recorded an audience below 100,000 across the five major capital cities.
Figures from ratings company OzTAM showed Saturday night’s clash between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory drew just 63,000 viewers across the five major capital cities and was the lowest for the sport in this timeslot so far this season.
This compares to the December 11 clash between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, which was watched by just 89,000 viewers.
The round three clash between Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets on December 4 attracted an audience of 85,000, including just 600 viewers in Perth.
The new five-year multimillion broadcast deal runs until 2026, but not only has it endured sluggish ratings, the coverage was beset with streaming issues early on.
In the opening round of the A-League season in November, the clash between Western United and Melbourne Victory was interrupted by repeated glitches, out-of-sync audio, out-of-focus cameras and jumpy streaming that left many viewers frustrated.
Many subscribers voiced their frustrations on social media, including complaints about unclear vision and being unable to see the numbers of players on the screen.
It resulted in Paramount+ issuing an apology to all those impacted by the technical issues.
Under the five-year ViacomCBS broadcast deal one men’s match is aired each week (on Saturday nights) on Ten’s main channel.
The other five A-League games are available for viewing for Paramount+ subscribers only and also one A-League women’s match each week (on Sunday afternoons) will be available on 10 Bold.
The A-League contract was one of Ten’s biggest deals into mainstream sport in recent years and came after the network lost cricket’s Big Bash League to Fox Sports and Channel Seven three years ago.
Ten was contacted for comment on Sunday but did not respond.
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