Bidding war looms as Network Ten lobs $3bn bid for AFL broadcast rights

The AFL wants a bidding war for the last television deal to be negotiated by outgoing boss Gillon McLachlan. US-owned Ten has indicated it is extremely keen to land the rights.

Network Ten is trying to grab AFL broadcast rights from Foxtel and Seven West Media. Picture: Getty Images

Network Ten is attempting to land a knockout $3bn bid for AFL broadcast rights, as the league increases pressure on television networks to clinch a deal within a month.

Incumbents Foxtel and Seven West Media are still considered favourites to maintain their package of rights, but the AFL hopes the Ten offer, which sources say is worth $600m annually over at least five years, will ignite a bidding war.

Meanwhile, Nine Entertainment, which has a free-to-air contract for the NRL throughout winter, has told the AFL it is interested in some rights, presenting a proposal to show AFL on Thursday nights, according to sources.

Nine mostly shows NRL on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons, as well as finals matches and State of Origin games. Foxtel also broadcasts the NRL.

Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, who will leave the job at the end of the year after an eight-year tenure, is keen to negotiate one last rights deal before he hands over the reins.

The move has left some television executives bemused, given Foxtel and Seven have negotiated extensions with the AFL in the past two years which will see them pay a combined $946m for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Foxtel and Seven had previously clinched a record $2.508bn deal with the AFL for six years from 2017, though the terms for Covid-affected years were later reduced when the pandemic hit and caused matches to be postponed and later played behind closed doors.

Ten is understood to have told AFL executives it would be keen to have all the rights, including digital rights, telecasting some matches on its main free-to-air channel and the remainder on its Paramount+ streaming service, which launched in Australia last year.

Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan. Picture: Tom Huntley

ViacomCBS, which owns Network Ten and Paramount+, hosted AFL executives including Mr McLachlan on a visit to the US earlier this year.

The AFL group visited television executives in New York in an attempt to drum up interest in the league’s broadcast rights, as well as trying to persuade streaming giants such as Amazon to join in the bidding process.

More recently, executives from Seven, Nine, Ten and Foxtel met the AFL in Melbourne for preliminary discussions. A source told The Weekend Australian the league hoped to wrap up a new deal, or at least the parameters of an agreement, by the end of July or early August.

Spokesmen from all the television networks did not respond to requests for comment, while an AFL spokesman declined to comment when contacted.

News Corp (publisher of The Weekend Australian) owns 65 per cent of Foxtel, with Telstra owning the rest. Foxtel’s streaming service Kayo has achieved strong viewer interest with its AFL telecasts in recent years.

Ten’s most recent foray into Australian sport is a $200m deal to broadcast soccer’s A-league for five years, with most matches on Paramount+. The deal, which included a small equity component in the privatised league, was plagued by low ratings and technical issues in the recently ­completed 2021-22 season. The AFL is considered the highest quality sports league in Australia for broadcasters, though the NRL grand finals and State of Origin matches attract huge viewer numbers. On a week-to-week basis, the AFL is considered a strong and consistent ratings product.

Seven is keen to retain its AFL free-to-air rights, but it is currently embroiled in a legal stoush with Cricket Australia over its broadcast contract for that sport.

Seven is suing Cricket Australia for breach of contract and is seeking to terminate its six-year, $450m deal, potentially setting the stage for the Kerry Stokes-controlled network to switch its focus to regaining broadcast rights to the Australian Open tennis.

On Thursday, Seven lodged documents in the Federal Court alleging CA had failed to meet its contractual obligations in the scheduling of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, which had resulted in diminished promotional opportunities and weaker commercial returns for the media company. In response to Seven’s legal proceedings, Cricket Australia said it was “astonished Seven has brought this unwarranted action, which will be strenuously defended”.

Foxtel has pay-television rights for cricket, including some exclusive international matches and Big Bash league rights.

Nine has rights for tennis, with two more years left on its six-year, $300m deal it signed in 2018 to end Seven’s long-term relationship with that sport.

Seven chief executive James Warburton has confirmed his network is keen to lob a large bid for tennis rights and is likely to end its long-term interest in cricket as a result.

Nine also has rugby union rights, having signed a three-year $100m deal with Rugby Australia from 2021 onwards, including matches on its Stan Sport streaming service.