The AFL is deep in negotiations to secure a fresh TV broadcast deal, which would come in effect from the 2025 season.
As Sportsday co-host Sam McClure reported over the weekend, streaming services are likely to be in the frame to secure rights to games for the first time, with CEO Gillon McLachlan currently in the US meeting with streamers Amazon and Paramount+.
Channel 7 has owned free to air rights for AFL matches since 2010, but McClure is reporting that amid a “level of frustration” at AFL House around the direction of their broadcasts, Channel 10 could be in the running to secure a landmark deal.
“The AFL has just landed in LA which is where Amazon and YouTube are based,” he said on Sportsday.
“The interesting thing we’ve learnt is after LA, they’re pushing on to New York for meetings with CBS, which own Channel 10 and streaming service Paramount+
“Channel 10 used to have the rights from 2006-2010 and since then, the sole free to air broadcaster has been Channel 7.
“What I know is there’s been a level of frustration at AFL House with Channel 7’s broadcasts for a couple of years now, the relationship is still a strong one, but I get the sense something is happening with Channel 10.
“It’s strange for Gil to go all the way to LA, then go across the other side of the country to meet with CBS – who own an Australian free to air company – without there being some major push for a potential change to the free to air broadcast after (the current deal runs out) at the end of 2024.”
McLachlan has flagged his interest in securing a landmark broadcast deal for the sport before he steps down as CEO at the end of the current season, with a streaming component set to be a major part of any rights deal for the first time in AFL history.