Communications Minister Michelle Rowland intervened in AFL rights talks

The AFL hopes will deliver a record figure that will allow it to invest in the game and its players. Under the current deal, it will receive $946 million over two years from Seven and Foxtel.

If the deal with the incumbents goes ahead, Seven will be able to stream the games it broadcasts on free-to-air on its online service, 7Plus, which was a point of tension between the two parties. In exchange, Foxtel is expected to receive a “Super Saturday”, giving it the exclusive rights to home-and-away rounds broadcast on that day.

The AFL was also considering delaying two free-to-air matches each week by up to two hours in interstate markets to give Foxtel more exclusivity for its streaming service Kayo Sports.

The AFL broadcast rights are a test of the federal anti-siphoning laws, which were created in the early 1990s when streaming services did not exist and Foxtel was the major cable TV provider.

Free TV Australia, the lobby group for commercial broadcasters Seven, Ten and Nine, has long advocated for the laws to include global services to allow the public free access to major events.

Nine, which owns The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, also owns subscription streaming service Stan, which airs sport such as rugby union. Channel Ten is owned by US film studio giant Paramount.

The government has made a review of the scheme a priority.

Foxtel boss Patrick Delany said this month the laws allow free-to-air television owners to get ahead of the Murdoch-controlled pay TV company and acquire all the rights to a sport with no requirement to air the games for free.

Labor made a pre-election pledge to review anti-siphoning laws to ensure global streaming services could not win the rights to major sporting events such as the AFL and Australian Open before free-to-air broadcasters have the chance to bid.

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Rowland made headlines last Wednesday when she issued an unprecedented public warning to the AFL, asking it to keep live matches on free-to-air television. “I encourage the AFL Commission and its broadcast and streaming partners to ensure there is no diminution in the availability of AFL matches on free-to-air television under the new deal,” Rowland said.

Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby declined to comment on the AFL rights negotiations, but said it was risky to put too many games behind a paywall. He said the company supported Labor’s review of the scheme even though it owns a streaming service and has the ability to put as many games as it desires behind a paywall. “If you put [a sport] behind a paywall, you’re going to face the issue that we’ve seen with some sports where their audience shrinks. We might do a deal that is primarily a subscription-driven deal, but be able to offer the things that that sport needs on free-to-air.

“If you look at what we do with rugby, we broadcast more rugby on free-to-air TV than is required under the anti siphoning requirements. Why? Because we believe building the audience for that sport is going to deliver a result in our subscription business.”

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