Paramount+/Ten sign $100m Football Australia deal

10 ViacomCBS and Football Australia announce largest Socceroos and Matildas broadcast deal ever. A new era for Australian football begins. While US streaming giant Amazon Prime Video, in partnership with free-to-air broadcaster SBS, was considered to be the favourite to secure the next broadcast deal, the Nine owned Stan platform also became a contender.

Network 10 and Paramount+ are set to be the new home of National Teams football, and the FFA Cup, bringing more football to more fans. pic.twitter.com/lDw4u38erV

— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) June 15, 2021

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Ten’s owners, ViacomCBS, have invested a further $100 million into the sport – according to sources with direct knowledge of the deal – to secure a suite of key international fixtures involving Australia’s men’s and women’s teams as well as the FFA Cup and other Asian tournaments. The $100 million figure is not all pure profit for the governing body. The deal also includes a significant amount of contra, while FA had to spend an unspecified amount to buy the rights to much of the Socceroos and Matildas content off the AFC’s confederation’s marketing agency to facilitate the package it has now sold to Ten.

• Football Australia and 10 ViacomCBS enter into landmark media rights agreement until the end of 2024.
• Network 10 and Paramount+ to be the new home of National Teams football and the FFA Cup bringing more football to more fans providing unprecedented reach.
• New deal includes all Westfield Matildas and Socceroos matches outside of FIFA World Cup Finals plus the next four (4) seasons of the FFA Cup from Round of 32 matches onwards.
• A minimum of 16 Senior National Team matches over the term and the annual FFA Cup Final to be broadcast on Network 10.
• The first ever direct commercial free-to-air broadcast deal for Football Australia’s National Teams.

The agreement, which encompasses the media rights for all national teams (Socceroos, Westfield Matildas, Young Socceroos, Westfield Young Matildas, Joeys, and Westfield Junior Matildas) owned or controlled by Football Australia, as well as AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, AFC Asian Cups, and other AFC tournaments until 31 December 2024, also celebrates the largest Socceroos and Westfield Matildas broadcast deal ever. Football Australia acquired the rights to the AFC competitions from the AFC to enable this compelling package of rights to be created.

In a ground-breaking move, the agreement will also include coverage of the FFA Cup (from the Round of 32) on Paramount+ with the FFA Cup Final, to be broadcast on Network 10 each year.

For the fans, this means that extensive coverage of Australia’s National Teams and the FFA Cup (in addition to the A- League and Westfield W-League) will be available on 10, 10 Bold and 10 Play, as well as Paramount+, which will be available in Australia from 11 August, for $8.99 per month.

As part of the deal, 10 ViacomCBS will also commission a children’s programme focused on promoting participation in football.

Having once made the Big Bash League the country’s hottest sporting property in the summer, Ten believes it can now make the round-ball code the most popular in Australia.

References

• Football Australia reaches landmark media rights agreement with 10 ViacomCBS
• Ten backs soccer to become ‘No.1 sport in Australia’ after $300m investment
• 10 WINS BIDDING WAR FOR SOCCEROOS AND MATILDAS MATCHES