AFL ratings: Game on for the most expensive sport in Australia
Ben King (centre) having kicked a goal in the Victoria-WA Origin match (Seven)
With the AFL season launching Thursday March 5, the rights holders are facing an uphill ratings battle to recoup the massive sums they have shelled out.
For Seven and Foxtel (and digital rights holder Telstra), the cost to show the most expensive sport in Australia amounts to $643m each season until the end of 2031 – an upgrade on the $473m per season under the terms of the former two-year deal that ended after the 2024 season.
The broadcasters have committed to an eye-watering $4.5b in total for the deal which is now entering its second year.
Since the current AFL rights deal was agreed, the key signatories have fled the TV landscape. News Corp and Telstra sold most of Foxtel to Dazn, while Kerry Stokes and now Jeff Howard have bailed out at Seven, leaving SCA’s John Kelly and Heith Mackay-Cruise to face the challenge of paying the AFL rights invoices.
