A-League brokers Fox Sports deal

The A-League will remain on Fox Sports next season under the terms of a deal struck in principle between the broadcaster and Football Federation Australia.

Sydney FC’s hunt for back-to-back titles will be shown on Fox Sports

The A-League will remain on Fox Sports next season under the terms of a deal struck in principle between the broadcaster and Football Federation Australia.

Though lawyers still have to ratify the final document, the one-year agreement was reached after talks late into the night and continuing today. It’s believed to be worth around $32m with the bulk in cash, but also to give FFA more freedom in terms of digital rights.

Under its terms, next season is likely to start in December, with the ultimate aim of moving the competition to a winter timetable – unifying it with the grassroots calendar.

The new deal is on top of an agreement struck to show the games remaining this season, and brings the relationship between the two sides back from the brink of an immediate divorce.

It remains to be seen whether the new deal still gives Fox Sports exclusivity over the vast majority of games, as the broadcaster currently has, and it’s understood that negotiations may continue over the seasons beyond next year.

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The suspension of the A-League due to the coronavirus pandemic had given Foxtel, the owners of Fox Sports, the right to exit the seven-year deal struck in 2016 worth $57m a year, and the company had signalled earlier this week that it intended to do so.

An invoice for nearly $15m sent by FFA to Fox on Monday – for the July-September quarter – appeared to have been the catalyst for the breakdown, with Fox removing all domestic football content from its website late on Wednesday.

But the replacement deal will allow the A-League clubs and FFA time to establish their own platform to broadcast games in the future, as well as give the clubs – and players – financial surety for the next year and a half.

Both sides are understood to be content with the final outcome, opening the possibility of the alliance continuing in the future as part of FFA’s plans to show much of its own content.

In the short term it is the final piece in the puzzle for the A-League to resume just 26 days until the first game. The clubs resumed training this week for the first time since March, under strict medical protocols, with the first game of the planned resumption set down for July 16.

Both Foxtel and FAA declined to comment, but an official announcement is expected imminently.