AFL open to alternatives as McLachlan targets one last agreement

The AFL sent out expressions of interest to potential bidders for its broadcast rights weeks before the resignation of long-standing chief executive Gillon McLachlan, in a clear sign of its ambitions to secure a lucrative new agreement before the end of the year.

Industry sources familiar with the correspondence, who spoke anonymously, said letters were sent to the major commercial television networks and streaming companies about two weeks ago. The request to submit interest in the rights came after the AFL was made aware there were other parties who wanted to seriously contend with longstanding partners Seven West Media and Foxtel for the ability to broadcast the code.

An AFL spokesperson said the governing body did not comment on broadcast talks or negotiations.

McLachlan announced plans to retire from his position as CEO after eight years last week, but said he wanted to secure a new deal before his departure. It will be the third agreement struck since McLachlan took the helm, including a renegotiation which took place during 2020 when games were suspended because of COVID-19. The last long-term deal was worth $2.5 billion over six years between Telstra, Foxtel and Seven.

News Corp’s Melbourne masthead The Herald Sun wrote last week the AFL planned to strike a deal with Foxtel (majority owned by News Corp) and Seven West Media in the coming months. It said talks had already started with both parties on a new deal that would run for at least three years and that Foxtel would want more exclusivity in non-Victorian markets.

However, requests for expression of interest show the AFL is looking at its alternatives and weighing up what the Australian media industry has to offer when the next round of rights begin in 2025.

Nine Entertainment Co, the owner of this masthead, is one of several broadcasters expected to take a look at the rights. But any decision will be complicated by the fact Nine is the broadcast partner of the NRL and is required to air multiple games on its main channel each week. However, securing the rights would give Nine the opportunity to accelerate growth of its sports streaming platform, Stan Sport, which currently broadcasts international tennis events and the rugby union.

Amazon Prime Video’s local content boss Tyler Bern said last month that the streaming service would look at any rights that came into the market. Amazon Prime Video was behind the documentary Making Their Mark and is currently a broadcast partner for Swimming Australia. The global company has deep pockets and has also signalled an intent to try and acquire the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games.

Unlike Foxtel, Amazon and other streaming services are not prevented by law to bid for AFL games at the same time as free-to-air networks. However, television networks are strongly advocating for these laws to be extended to streaming services such as Amazon.