AFL Strike Groundbreaking Six-Year Broadcast Rights Deal

The Australian Football League (AFL) has signed a major six-year $2.5 billion broadcast deal with Channel Seven, Foxtel and Telstra.

The trio of channels will continue as the League’s broadcasters under the new deal, which will run from 2017 to 2022.

The league’s current broadcast agreement expires at the end of the 2016 season and was worth $250 million a year; the new deal is 67 per cent bigger at $418 million a year.

The deal was announced at a press conference attended by AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch among others.

Speaking about the deal, Murdoch said: “This is a very significant investment for us. We’ve always believed that this is the premium code in Australia – it’s the national game.

“We’re very happy to be doing this. We believe in the strength of the game and we’ll do everything we can to make it stronger.”

Mike Fitzpatrick added: “We need to continue to be the first choice for our elite and talented athletes, we need to strengthen our clubs at all levels, and we need to invest in the community level of our game.

“This agreement with News Corporation, the Seven Network and Telstra will allow us to make the right investment to keep our game strong.”