A-League scores free-to-air time slots for upcoming season
As calls for more support for the A-Leagues continue, the men’s competition has scored a huge win ahead of the new season.
As confirmed by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) on Friday, the 2024/25 season will feature a “revamped” schedule that includes two free-to-air matches a week.
While all matches this season can be watched on Paramount+, two fixtures will be screened live and free on 10 Bold and 10 Play with back-to-back games kicking off from 5pm and 7:35pm AEST, which is hoped will help “drive viewership growth and momentum” for the football competition’s 20th anniversary campaign.
“It’s set to be an exciting 20th year of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men. Building on last season, we can expect more exciting football, with incredible young talent and national team heroes playing the most entertaining football we’ve seen in the A-Leagues,” A-Leagues commissioner, Nick Garcia, said.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure the 2024/25 fixture meets fan, partner and club feedback, and to create a new free-to-air format – with a double-header every Saturday night on Network Ten – for fans to enjoy. We can’t wait for the football to begin in October!”
The news comes after Clive Dickens, Optus Sport’s vice president of TV, content, and product development, said the A-Leagues need more help to truly thrive in Australia following a tough year that included staff redundancies and club distributions slashed.
“At a club football level here in Australia, we just don’t yet have the support,” he said.
“The A-League women’s and the A-League men’s are not necessarily getting the attendances that they deserve. It’s easy to think about Matildas and Socceroos and tournaments and Premier League, but actually that Australian club level, it’s important that we all are members and we turn up.”
Despite this, following the 23/24 season, the APL has claimed that the competitions have seen three years of continued growth, reporting TV audiences up 53% on Paramount+, 33% on 10 Play and 16% on Network 10, memberships up 31% from the previous season, and a 7% year-on-year increase on crowds.
Listen to Dickens’ chat with Mumbrella here.
The 2024/25 season kicks off on the weekend of 18-20 October.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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