VFL inks broadcast deals with Foxtel, Seven, ABC, and SEN

Nathan Jolly

March 12, 2026 3:29

VFL inks broadcast deals with Foxtel, Seven, ABC, and SEN

The VFL is set for its biggest season in decades

The Victorian Football League is set to have its biggest audiences in decades, as the pathways competition locks in broadcast deals with Foxtel, ABC, Seven, and SEN.

The Foxtel deal will see 16 matches stream on Kayo Sports across the opening 13 rounds of the season, with at least once each week. In addition, many matches will be followed directly by AFL fixtures, giving the league an extra boost.

ABC TV will also air the VFL for the first time since 2014, with the match of the round broadcast into Victoria on ABC TV, and nationally on ABC iview. The matches will be simulcast on ABC listen, and streamed through the AFL’s distribution channels.

The ABC will also broadcast one final in each of the first three weeks of the finals series, both preliminary finals, and the grand final.

In a separate deal, Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) and Seven have teamed up to secure television production and media rights for all Tasmania Devils home matches as the team rejoins the VFL this year, ahead of its 2028 AFL debut.

SEG’s TV arm, Rainmaker, will produce all 10 home matches for the Devils, which will air on Seven Tasmania, and 7plus Sport nationally.

SEN Tasmania will broadcast all home and away matches on radio via SEN Tassie 1629am into Hobart, SENTrack 1611am into Launceston and Devonport, as well as nationally through the SEN app.

Time to pick a VFL team to get behind

Matthew Chun, the AFL’s executive general manager of finance, broadcast and infrastructure, said in a media release: “We are thrilled to be expanding the broadcast coverage of the VFL. This a wonderful result and will bolster the exposure of the competition right across the country.”

Foxtel Group’s executive director of commercial, sport Adam Howarth, said: “The VFL plays a vital role in the AFL ecosystem and the expansion of our partnership with the AFL to include VFL will help increase visibility for the competition while strengthening the development layers that keep the game thriving.”

ABC managing director Hugh Marks said: “Australian football is at the heart of the nation’s sporting culture, and this deal gives us a fantastic opportunity to serve the Australian sporting community, bring live sport back to ABC TV, and further strengthen our offering on ABC radio.”

SEG chief executive, Craig Hutchison, said the Devils “have already captured the hearts and imagination of Tasmanian and broader AFL fans alike. To team up with the Seven Network – the biggest TV platform in the Apple Isle, which already has a legion of footy fans who already enjoy their AFL coverage – means Tasmanians will have the perfect new home for the Devils matches and content.”

Seven’s head of sport, Renee Quirk, said the network looks forward to “working closely with SEN to bring every game of the side’s inaugural season to passionate viewers in Tasmania, while also making each match available nationally on 7plus so fans across the country can get behind the Devils and be part of the story from day one.”

The VFL season commences on March 21.