AFL’s TV value cops battering from coronavirus

The value of the AFL’s prized TV rights is tipped to fall as the sports media industry reels from the coronavirus crisis.

The value of television rights will struggle to maintain their value after the coronavirus pandemic

The value of the AFL’s prized TV rights is tipped to fall as the sports media industry reels from the coronavirus crisis.

Experts believe the prospect of a cashed-up new player such as Amazon, Google or Facebook emerging at the bidding table has diminished.

A more likely move is a two-year extension with current rights holders Channel 7 and Foxtel.

But AFL Media, the league’s in-house digital business, could be significantly downsized as a result of the negotiations and refocused on supporting club websites.

The current six-year, $2.56 billion AFL deal — averaging $418 million a season in cash and contra — expires at the end of 2022.

RMIT associate professor and sports marketing expert Dr Con Stavros said the league’s media rights growth had been “staggering” in the past two decades, but would almost certainly take a hit like most sports internationally in the post-COVID world.

“It would be hard to imagine it is not (going to take a hit),” Dr Stavros told The Australian.

He wouldn’t put a figure on what the broadcast rights could drop to, but said a combination of issues would impact on negotiations, including the fact that the free-to-air networks were “not the money-making machines they once were”.

He doubted global media powerhouses Google, Amazon or Facebook would be willing to be involved at a significant level as “they work to a different model”.

The AFL and its media partners are already talking about extending their deal for another two seasons to the end of 2024.

Dr Stavros said the league should try and finalise those details “sooner rather than later” to provide greater certainty for the game.

The financial tsunami will almost certainly see a renegotiation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the game’s 850 players.

AFL players’ boss Paul Marsh confirmed the agreement between the players and the AFL — also due to expire at the end of 2022 — would be reviewed later this year.

But any new arrangement will require the AFL agreeing to “full” financial transparency.

“We have agreed, as part of the pay deal we did a few weeks ago, that we will review it,” Marsh said.

“Our starting point is we have a CBA that is in place but we understand that the industry is going through some pain.

“We need to get an understanding of the actual impact of COVID-19 on the industry to be able to work out what it looks like going forward. We are going to need some full transparency and then we’ll work through it with the AFL like we always do.”

Additional reporting: lauren Wood