News Corp and Telstra will sell Foxtel in a US$2.2bn (A$3.4bn) deal, the companies announced on Monday.

[Giant YoYo]

Even though DAZN do sound a bit dodgy in their practices however, it will be exciting to hopefully see AFL in NSW & QLD blossom a lot with this news and away from the News Corp media that have always favoured the NRL over the AFL tbh.

IMO, I reckon they'll move to pushing soccer over NRL. The way footy is treated here by Foxtel/Kayo and the media is shocking.

It still stuns me that up until 2023 I had no idea there was a sport called Australian Rules/Aussie Rules despite living in the eastern suburbs, CBD and inner west of Sydney for a number of years.

 

[Giant YoYo]

So the price will increase for AFL streaming some day, question is will the value increase with possible Euro football additions.

Having had a look at some of their packages wouldn't surprise me if they did sport/season specific packages

It would absolutely fly in the face of what the AFL is trying to do out in the western Sydney market by having footy as a secondary/casual sport by sport fans which according to my anecdotal observations is more successful than trying to do a takeover.

 

[Giant YoYo]

The media have already started calling soccer played in Australia "Australian football" so wouldn't surprise me if they continue and really go hard on that.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

Hey mate, thanks for thinking of me but I know very little of NRL and what happens in that world.

From personal observations they have a pretty big following but they're struggling on field.

They're not the only club struggling, should see how well the Wanderers are doing, we keep getting told the Giants are in soccer heartland (and it's absolutely huge out here, which is true) but the Wanderers are getting worse numbers than the Giants on cold and wet windy days but no one is suggesting they be moved on (let alone to Canberra).

14/12/2024 - A-League: Western Sydney Wanderers v Brisbane Roar 6617
22/12/2024 - A-League: Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix 6341

Both days have had gorgeous weather too..

Will be the last time I ever think that all NSW follow an NRL team but nice to see you mate

Regarding the Wanderers, reckon once WSW start having decent results again, there could be an increase in attendance but even Adelaide Utd (my team) only got nearly 11k on last Friday night against Sydney FC and would expect something similar against your mob this upcoming week as well in Adelaide. Like you said though, Western Sydney is a minefield for soccer over there so wouldn't be surprised for crowds to reach 15-20k for finals but even that is on par with what the Giants get in their home debry and finals matches so GWS are on-par and were going well tbf until COVID hit and halted the momentum but are back on track right now.

One thing I do want to ask though and it applies to every sport (other than NRL possibly) but why isn't there more affordable prices for tickets out there to watch Western Sydney teams play like the Giants and Wanderers out there as families are much more likely to have lower socio-economics and benefits over people who live in the major cities like Sydney and Melbourne and I would have thought it would be common sense for the AFL to do that.

Providing affordable ticket prices or deals in the AFL around Western Sydney would at least help attract the casual supporters in NSW such as overseas immigrants and would boost crowds steadily again like they were pre-COVID while more importantly detracting the supporter base from the Eels, Tigers and Panthers in particular in those regions.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

Dazn will have little say in the make up of the league, if it were a permanent contract maybe, but in 7 years it goes to a whole new bidding process so the afl holds the whip hand on the make up of its own competition.

Agree with the initial broadcasting deal with DAZN, the competition will pretty much be the same besides Tasmania's entry into the competition in 2028.

However, if the AFL can secure a follow-up deal with DAZN or another international broadcasting channel out there beyond 2031, it will be interesting to see what DAZN (as the example) think of 10 teams in one state and if they think it would be more beneficial for the smaller Vic clubs to relocate like NFL model to greatly benefit the timeslots for international audiences out there and grow the game more in those states.

Either this would mean, as an example to a 20-22-24 team structure:

A) The AFL relocates the small Victorian clubs (mentioned the names before) to WA, SA, NSW or QLD metro while creating new entities in ACT, NT, NQ or NZ regions out there.

or

B) The AFL relocates the small Victorian clubs in the ACT, NT, NQ or NZ regions while promoting existing clubs such as Norwood or East/West Perth in SA and WA and creating new entities in NSW or QLD metro.

Also, this could result in the next broadcasting deal beyond 2031 introducing more than 2 broadcasting channels (Seven, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, DAZN, etc) having access to only 1-2 "special" matches per week similar to what the NFL operations.

 

[Fire]

Will be interesting to see what happens in the short term. I suspect the NRL is in trouble because there really isn''t any competition in pay TV, so who are they binding against? The commercial networks don't have any money to pick up the difference, and streaming networks would tank their reach even if they were interested to a significant degree. But who knows, it might go the other way and the NRL get a desperate boatload of cash. Dying industries can get a bit volatile. The AFL will be unaffected unless they go bankrupt.

Longer term it changes nothing tho. Play tv and commercial networks are on the way out, and the AFL is ultimatley going to own, not sell, their streaming directly through partnerships with platforms. I'm assuming other sports will too.

 

[Run n Spread]

Free to air sport is on its last legs. It is inevitable footy will go the other way of sports.

 

[Fire]

Also, this could result in the next broadcasting deal beyond 2031 introducing more than 2 broadcasting channels (Seven, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, DAZN, etc) having access to only 1-2 "special" matches per week similar to what the NFL operations.

I doubt the AFL will ever do that. Its definitely maximising the NFL's revenue, bit its coming at a terrible long cost. No one has access to all the channels, so no one can really properly follow the sport. Ive noticed some of the more casual fans around me arent as talkative about the NFL anymore, and ive heard a lot of complaints about the situation in the media.

Selling live sport to the next generations is going to be a challenge without hamstringing yourself, and the AFL has always valued reach as much as it does money.

 

[Giant YoYo]

Will be the last time I ever think that all NSW follow an NRL team but nice to see you mate

Good to see you too, mate.

Seemingly most BFers are sports fans through and through

I'm just a footy fan with no allegiance to any sport outside of footy. I can see why most people think I'd have an NRL team, it's a sport I shunned for years and I only know league through my love for footy.

I'll reply to the rest later as I have to pack to go away

 

[Giant YoYo]

and the AFL has always valued reach as much as it does money.

Yep. The AFL values accessibility above many other competing priorities.

 

[Bjo187]

Will be interesting to see what happens in the short term. I suspect the NRL is in trouble because there really isn''t any competition in pay TV, so who are they binding against? The commercial networks don't have any money to pick up the difference, and streaming networks would tank their reach even if they were interested to a significant degree. But who knows, it might go the other way and the NRL get a desperate boatload of cash. Dying industries can get a bit volatile. The AFL will be unaffected unless they go bankrupt.

Longer term it changes nothing tho. Play tv and commercial networks are on the way out, and the AFL is ultimatley going to own, not sell, their streaming directly through partnerships with platforms. I'm assuming other sports will too.

That's why albo intentionally opened up the streaming rights loophole for the next couple of years, specifically to ensure the nrl gets more money than they would otherwise get in a fair market. The tv execs around the country couldn't believe it and basically begged him to change it, but his conflict of interest won out again.