Football Australia and Paramount Australia confirm historic multi-year media rights deal

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OOTBALL AUSTRALIA AND PARAMOUNT AUSTRALIA AGREE TO HISTORIC MULTI-YEAR, MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA RIGHTS DEAL FOR AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL TEAMS THROUGH TO 2028

Football Australia has confirmed that Paramount Australia, the parent company of Network 10 and Paramount+, will be the official broadcaster for the CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos in Australia. This deal includes the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™ hosted in Australia and the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™.

Over 100 international matches featuring the Matildas and Socceroos will be broadcast live, with at least 50 available on free-to-air TV.

Paramount has also secured exclusive rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™, in a partnership with IMG.

The agreement extends through 2028, encompassing all CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos friendly matches, AFC tournaments, and Australia Cup Finals. This deal, specifically with ING, also consolidates broadcasting rights under a single platform, ensuring extensive coverage across 96% of Australian households.

With the CommBank Young Matildas opener in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024™ kicking off on September 1st, 2024, fans will immediately benefit from this deal.

James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, remarked: “This landmark agreement with Paramount Australia is a pivotal moment for Australian football. It brings unprecedented exposure to our national teams and provides fans with unparalleled access to the CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos.

“Innovation is the cornerstone of our approach to sustaining and expanding the influence of Australian football. Reacquiring the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) National Team rights and securing the broadcast rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™ are strategic moves designed to maximise control over our content, enhance fan accessibility, and unlock new revenue streams.

“These rights are integral to our strategy to secure a transformative broadcast deal that we anticipate will set new benchmarks in the valuation of football media rights in Australia. Bringing as much national team content as possible to a multi-platform partner was a key objective from a fan’s perspective, and we are thrilled to achieve this.

“We look forward to our continued partnership with Paramount Australia, a relationship that has been pivotal in delivering high-quality football matches to our fans. This ongoing collaboration will be crucial as we navigate future opportunities and challenges in the dynamic media landscape.

“We also extend our gratitude to the IMG team for their invaluable support in navigating this complex negotiation with all parties involved and our friends at FIFA and AFC for their tremendous support and collaboration,” concluded Mr. Johnson.

This agreement reinforces Paramount Australia’s commitment to Australian football, which boasts the highest participation rate of club sport in the country and is the leading organized sport for children under 14.

With exclusive coverage of the A-Leagues, Paramount has been involved in Australian football for many years and continue to provide football fans with local broadcasts.

“Australian football fans are the winners here,” said Beverley McGarvey, President of Network 10 and Paramount Australia’s Head of Streaming and Regional Lead.

“Never before have fans had such incredible access to the sport they love, ranging from the A-Leagues all the way through to premium international games broadcast on one free-to-air network and one of Australia’s fastest-growing streaming platforms.

“Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the Paramount Australia agreement, which we see as an exciting extension of our coverage of the A-Leagues, is the opportunity for women’s football.

“All CommBank Matildas’ games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 will be telecast by Network 10 on free-to-air television, as will all Matildas’ games in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™,” Ms. McGarvey said.

Fans can access the broadcasts via Network 10 and/or Paramount+ subscriptions, exactly like the A-Leagues coverage.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes content, interactive fan engagement opportunities, and social media initiatives will be part of this comprehensive coverage.

The full list of rights included in the agreement are:

  • AFC Asian Qualifiers (FIFA World Cup 2026™ Asian Qualifiers Final Round)
    5 Sep 24 – Australia v Bahrain on Network 10, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
    10 Sep 24 – Indonesia v Australia exclusive on Paramount+.
    10 Oct 24 – Australia v China PR on Network 10, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
    15 Oct 24 – Japan v Australia exclusive on Paramount+.
    14 Nov 24 – Australia v Saudi Arabia on Network 10, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
    19 Nov 24 – Bahrain v Australia exclusive on Paramount+.
    20 Mar 25 – Australia v Indonesia on Network 10, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
    25 Mar 25 – China PR v Australia exclusive on Paramount+.
    5 Jun 25 – Australia v Japan on Network 10, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
    10 Jun 25 – Saudi Arabia v Australia exclusive on Paramount+.
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™ (15 matches on Network 10, all matches on Paramount+).
  • AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™ (six matches on Network 10, all matches on Paramount+).
  • AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ (all matches exclusively on Paramount+).
  • AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026™ and 2028™.
  • All CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos International Friendlies 2025 to 2028 (15 CommBank Matildas Friendlies on Network 10, all matches on Paramount+ and 10 Subway Socceroos’ Friendlies on Network 10, all matches on Paramount+).
  • Australia Cup Finals 2025 to 2028.

Brisbane Roar teams up with Monochrome as Platinum Partner

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Image credit: Brisbane Roar website

Brisbane Roar confirmed Monochrome Corporation will become their Platinum Partner and A-League Men’s match day kit sleeve sponsor for the upcoming 2024/25 season.

Monochrome is a diversified financial services group specialising in crypto-assets and infrastructure projects within the bitcoin and digital asset sector across the Asia-Pacific region.

Earlier this year, Monochrome’s asset management division launched the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (Ticker: IBTC), Australia’s first ETF to directly hold bitcoin.

A cryptocurrency company partnering with a club in the A-League is an extremely rare case and could signify a change in the future with this Brisbane Roar deal.

Central Coast Mariners partnered with Australian crypto platform Zipmex back in April of 2022 with the partnership becoming a joint deal with NRL club Penrith Panthers, however, this collaboration didn’t last very long at all, dissolving in 2023.

The other major codes in Australia have accepted multi-million dollar deals in crypto and the A-League could follow suit in the coming years if it becomes more acceptable.

Brisbane Roar Chairman & CEO, Kaz Patafta expressed his excitement and discussed the way this will benefit the club.

“We are delighted to welcome Monochrome to the club for the upcoming season. Monochrome is a leader in their field and a pioneer in the ETF investment space for crypto and bitcoin exposure. We are greatly appreciative for their support of our A-League Men’s program, and we look forward to seeing this partnership grow,” Patafta explained in a press release.

Monochrome CEO, Jeff Yew also commented on the collaboration and how the two parties are tied to the same values.

“Monochrome has been a long-standing supporter of Australian athletes and sporting events. Furthering our commitment to excellence alongside Brisbane Roar which aligns well with Monochrome’s brand values,” Yew said in a press release.

Brisbane Roar secure an important deal financially for the club and are busy once again in the offseason as they remain one of the strongest business clubs in the league.

This crypto deal is pioneering and could also give a glimpse into the potential for more deals like this if it becomes successful, with clubs becoming increasingly desperate for stable, financially-heavy partnerships.

Football Queensland will keep registration fees unchanged for 2025

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Image credit: Matimix

Football Queensland (FQ) has decided to buck national trends in increased registration fees by keeping the same low fees from past seasons for 2025.

FQ’s prices for the 2025 season will be $50 for MiniRoos, $66 for Juniors and $130 for Seniors making them the lowest registration fees in Australia.

President of Football Queensland, Paula Robinson, champions the federation’s economic management throughout the years to deliver affordable sport to a growing audience.

“The Football Queensland Board of Directors is extremely proud to keep its registration fees unchanged for yet another year. Having the lowest registration fees of any Member Federation means football in Queensland is one of the most financially accessible sports in the country. No wonder we have more Queenslanders than ever wanting to take to the football fields,” she said via FQ press release.

“As we continue to experience record year-on-year growth in participation across the state, the decision to not increase governing body fees for a fifth year reflects Football Queensland’s commitment to ensuring football remains accessible to all Queenslanders, no matter their age, background or location.”

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci, explained how the governing body continue to manage difficult reforms.

“Football Queensland continues to undertake very difficult and significant reforms to its operational design, execution and statewide governance structures to transform how we deliver football and ensure the game can handle its evolving needs well into the future,” he said via press release.

“Coupled with prudent financial management, these reforms continue placing significant downward pressure on football’s volatile and high inflationary cost environment to deliver stable registration benefits to participants across the state. 

“After another exciting 2024 season, we look forward to welcoming participants back next year and seeing even more Queenslanders join our game in 2025.”

The registration fees for FQ have been the lowest in the nation for 5 years with the federation not allowing price increases since 2020, including in 2022 where on average football prices saw a 30% increase nationwide.

With the recent cost of living crisis in Australia, the cost of sports has been a massive influence on players either starting or returning to play football in Australia.

FQ’s massive increase in participants has made football the most-played team sport in Queensland, having the largest increase in players of all state federations last season. The continued low prices have been voiced as a key contributor to this success.

As a federation with a large contribution to Australian football in player numbers and successful professionals, its ability to keep prices low is a massive accomplishment.

Other state federations should look to FQ for inspiration in replicating their economic management if Australia wants to maintain participant numbers and ease the financial pressure to play football.

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