Paramount and Channel 10’s Football Gamble Pays Off with Record Viewership

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Paramount+ has recently highlighted their successful viewership numbers for Australian Football.

Paramount+ and Channel 10 struck a deal in 2024 with Football Australia (FA) that gave them the TV rights for the Australian national teams and domestic Isuzu UTE A-League and Ninja A-League Women’s to be televised on the platforms.

Recently it was posted that a record number of viewers since its deal.

The CommBank Matildas in 2025 reached 2.73 million total national viewers, which averaged 336,000 total national viewers in prime time. This resulted in the biggest ever viewing on Paramount+, which went up 138%.

The 2025-26 season Ninja A-League Women also gained positive results with its biggest ever streaming audiences, up 16% on 10 and up 72% on Paramount+.

These numbers support the consistently growing trend since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Australian soil.

The Men’s national team, the CommBank Socceroos, also had successful viewership, their games reached 2.98 million viewers in 2025, averaging 310,000 total national viewers in prime time.

This means the viewers are up 35% year-on-year in total national viewers with the biggest viewing audience ever on 10, up 39% and on Paramount+, up 17%.

The Isuzu UTE A-League Men recorded its biggest ever A-League viewership in the 2024-2025 season on Paramount+ and 10 with 5.1 million national viewers.

The current 2025-26 season further built on this, surpassing last season with numbers up 31% on 10 and up 48% on Paramount+.

These numbers are promising signs of football’s growth on these providing services, Paramount+ and Channel 10 have done well to elevate the local footballing market.

How the numbers increased points to some important influential factors. The Socceroos’ eventual qualification to the FIFA 2026 World Cup brings national traction; the nature of group stage knockouts and a spot in the world’s biggest sporting event brings jeopardy and, respectively, the viewers.

The Matilda’s continue to grow on their recent success towards the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. Their rise in the social and sporting worlds has spearheaded this increase.

Australia has always been a nation that has rallied support and viewership when on the national stage.

The rise of the domestic leagues is a rather more interesting surprise. It showcases that the domestic game is still watched and enjoyed, even more so for both women’s and men’s.

Small in comparison to other sporting codes, but progression is still progression. Even when the systems of Australian Football, such as the recent problems with the Australian professional Leagues (APL) and the FA, seem to continue to disrupt.

The FA will undoubtedly be benefiting from this deal; it was, in retrospect, a very smart partnership. Building on this success is important; making it more accessible is key.

The diehard football fans could worry what impact this has had on stadium numbers, however, which have not seen as much of a significant rise. For Paramount+ and Channel 10, it’s great business. To gain rights before big events or following rising trends is a smart move.

The services can only benefit from this traction. If they stay true to the fans, the sport can benefit as well, with growing popularity, investment and accessibility.

If they ask for more and place pressure on the viewers, it could be counter-intuitive. In the end, this is what gaining TV rights for sport involves.

You must relinquish control of the content of the sport. Build on the narratives available; areas where they can market or showcase should be focused on.

In the end, the actual sport itself dictates the viewership.

The games, drama, excitement. it cannot be scripted, only moulded around.

That is why football is so loved; its unique nature keeps its spirit alive.

The common football saying “let the game flow” holds true in this; faith in the game will bring all involved success.

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Eastern Suburbs Football Association Announces First All-Female Referee Course and Expanded Women’s Competition

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Image Credit: Football NSW

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association has opened its 2026 season with three structural investments that reflect the growing ambition of community football associations to address participation, representation and development gaps simultaneously, beginning with the delivery of its first all-female Football Match Official Course.

The course, held at Matraville Sports High School and led by female liaison committee member Michelle Hilton and 2025 Referee of the Year Ariella Richards, brought 25 new female referees into the association ahead of Round 1. The initiative targets one of the most persistent imbalances in community sport, with women remaining significantly underrepresented in officiating roles at every level of the game, by creating a dedicated entry point separate from the mixed course environment that many women find unwelcoming.

The Women’s Premier League has also expanded, now featuring eleven teams and introducing a WPL1 and WPL2 structure following the first ten rounds of the season. The tiered format creates more competition opportunities for clubs across the region while providing a clearer development pathway for teams at different stages of growth. Returning clubs Randwick City, Glebe Wanderers, Easts FC and Sydney University join established sides in what the association describes as one of its most competitive women’s seasons. ESFA clubs have continued to perform strongly in state-wide competitions including the Football NSW Sapphire Cup, State Cup and Champion of Champions.

Building the next generation

The season opened with an inaugural Development League Gala Day for Under-9 to Under-12 boys and girls, bringing eight clubs together in a structured development environment ahead of Round 1. Sydney FC A-League Women’s players attended the event and engaged directly with young participants, a deliberate effort to connect grassroots players with visible examples of where the pathway leads.

“We are committed to creating more opportunities for clubs, players, coaches and referees to thrive, with a strong focus on participation opportunities to suit participants of all abilities and aspirations,” said ESFA CEO John Boulous.

The three initiatives, a new referee entry point for women, an expanded women’s competition structure, and a development-focused junior gala day with elite role models present, together reflect an association responding to the participation pressures the AFC Women’s Asian Cup has brought into sharp relief across Australian football.

More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

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