Australian domestic football leagues, A-League and W-League will be moving to ViacomCBS owned Network 10 and upcoming streaming platform Paramount Plus after a five-year broadcast rights agreement was reached between all parties.
After a long-standing relationship with Fox Sports (along with Foxtel and Kayo), the new deal with ViacomCBS is reported to be generating $200 million over five years, with an option of a three-year extension. To confirm the news, Paramount Plus made a formal announcement regarding the latest development on their official Twitter account.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the deal is worth $32 million in cash for the first year, which happens to be far less than what Fox Sports’ original deal offered. With the A-League yet to conclude and the previous deal still running, its matches are currently being streamed live on Kayo Sports while two matches per round and the Final Series matches are broadcast on Fox Sports. Meanwhile, the new broadcast rights holders will be able to air the live stream of A-League and W-League across their platforms from the 2021/22 season, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in October.
The leading A-League game is to be aired on Ten every Saturday night during the season, while for the women’s League Ten Bold will be the new home, airing live match broadcast every Sunday. For the free-to-air matches, the channel’s free catch-up service Ten Play will the place. On the other hand, the Channel’s upcoming streaming platform Paramount Plus, which is yet to be launched in the country, will allow access to all the matches of both the leagues at a price of AUS$8.99 (US$6.98) a month.
ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand’s Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President, Beverley McGarvey also confirmed the agreement with the APL (Australian Professional Leagues) saying: “Ensuring broad reach on free-to-air, as well as extensive access on Paramount+, we are committed to showcasing the sport in innovative ways and exposing it to a plethora of programming opportunities across all our platforms, including those of our parent company ViacomCBS.”
APL chairman Paul Lederer expressed his feelings for the former partners as the new deal marked the conclusion of the A-League and Westfield W-League’s 15-year partnership with Fox Sports. He said, “Though this marks the start of a new era for the Leagues, Fox Sports has been a great friend of football since the beginning and we’re incredibly grateful for their support and investment over the past 16 years,”