Football Federation Australia has today announced a landmark broadcast deal with Australia’s national broadcaster the ABC. The new deal will see the ABC broadcast the next four seasons of the A-League live on ABC Radio platforms. The news of this new deal follows reports in last week’s Sydney Morning Herald that the ABC will not have broadcast rights to the domestic T20 Big Bash, Ryobi Cup and Sheffield Shield cricket competitions. The void left by no ball-by-ball coverage of domestic cricket is likely to be somewhat filled by ABC Radio’s new A-League deal.
ABC Grandstand will call all A-League matches via its website and the ABC Radio mobile app. It will also broadcast fixtures on ABC Local Radio and Grandstand Digital Radio.
Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said of the new deal that:
“The national radio broadcaster adds significantly to our reach at a time when audiences for the A-League are booming and there’s a massive surge in interest in football.”
While the A-League has previously been broadcast on ABC Radio, this new deal where every match is live on the national broadcaster’s airwaves further cements the A-League’s place on the Australian sporting calendar. This new extensive radio coverage, combined with coverage on Fox Sports and for the first time on free-to-air via SBS2, will no doubt facilitate the A-league’s continued growth in Australia as it receives more mainstream media coverage.
There will still be plenty of cricket on ABC Radio over summer, but the landscape is changing and it appears that it is the A-League’s time to shine.
References
ABC Grandstand joins on as A-League broadcast partner for next four seasons
Every Hyundai A-League match live on ABC Radio
Howzat! ABC radio loses exclusive cricket rights