New Media Deal

[midfielder]

He is playing down the money but also saying their is very strong interest from FTA, and also saying FFA are looking at Optus and beIn sport


http://www.news.com.au/sport/footba...t/news-story/3d32c3d5e87dfe69293b3e6fcc6f58d2

FFA chairman Steven Lowy says broadcasting A-League on free-to-air a must

WHILE A-League season 11 is preparing for its thrilling crescendo, Steven Lowy is already looking ahead to a potentially game-changing off-season.

And while attempting to downplay expectations regarding the monetary figure Football Federation Australia can pull in for its next set of television rights, the FFA chairman says commercial free to air exposure is a must for his game.

There is one season left to run on the current Fox Sports-SBS arrangement, the FTA component of which Lowy labelled at Friday’s Melbourne Victory grand final luncheon as "unsatisfactory".

And while refusing to close the door to the possibility of the final year of that deal being scrapped, Lowy said that would "only be possible with the co-operation of Fox Sports".

As negotiations kick off not only with Seven, Nine and Ten, but also potentially the likes of beIN sports and Optus - who recently acquired the rights to the English Premier League - as well as Fox, Lowy said there was no definitive date by which the new deal has to be sealed.

And everything is on the table, including the potential break up of rights to domestic and international fixtures.

“We're in the process of starting to go out to the market, many of them are new players," Lowy said.

“I've seen numbers in the paper of $80m and therefore if we get less than that it'd be 'oh, they did a terrible deal' or if we get more then it's 'wow, way above expectation'.

“I don't work like that as a businessman. I want to say formally here that we need to dispel any (monetary) expectation. It will be what it will be.”


Lowy was happy to say, however, how crucial free to air TV exposure is for a sport that is booming at grassroots level but failing to get the same cut through at the top end.

“Subscription TV accounts for about a third of the households in the country, that's not enough," he said.

"The current penetration of SBS is far too low.

"There also is a very strong interest from free to air. You've seen what Seven did with the Matildas.

"Seven and Nine have both taken an active interest in international (club) games that have taken place and that's very good, very interesting. "Those opportunities were not available in the last round of negotiations, so the landscape has changed."

 

[Big Al]

Basically exposure over dollars

 

[FFC Mariner]

Or its not worth what everyone was hoping.

 

[dibo]

There's probably a bit of expectation game going on.

If we stay exclusively STV, we might be able to argue up more cash than if we have a big FTA component. But the value of the rights in exposure plus cash meets or exceeds what STV offers then all good.

I reckon 7 is going to be very interested based on club and Matildas games, it suits 9's scheduling of both rugby league and cricket and 10 have gone well with BBL and would likely be keen to extend their summer portfolio.

Add to that Optus, Fox Sports and BeIn Sports all getting busy on football rights discussions and we've got lots of outs.

I wouldn't rule out the deal being done this off-season.

 

[MagpieMariner]

Going on the coverage on the 9 morning shows, they're very keen. I've never them seen give so much.

 

[midfielder]

More news from the Fin Review

Says among other things after the grand final they will go into negotiation mode.

Appears {and I think its smart} FFA are willing to take a cut in the media deal to gain extra exposure.

http://www.afr.com/business/sport/f...r-coverage-a-must-for-aleague-20160428-gohdw4

Football Federation Australia chairman Steven Lowy has laid down a marker for the organisation's upcoming broadcast rights negotiations, insisting that large, commercial free-to-air coverage is a must for the sport.

Lowy and other FFA executives, including chief executive David Gallop, have entertained guests from all three big commercial networks in the past week, including hosting some at Sunday's A-League grand final at Adelaide Oval between Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers.

With the end of the 2015-16 season the FFA will move into negotiation mode, with one year remaining on its four-year, $160 million deal with Fox Sports and SBS.

Lowy said FFA needed a presence on the big networks such as Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment Co and Network Ten and would pursue the matter aggressively.

One stumbling block to that could be that Fox Sports owns "first and last" bidding rights for the next deal, potentially giving it the opportunity to match any other bids.

But when asked if the FFA needed football on at least one of the big three channels, Lowy said: "Yes. Subscription TV accounts for about a third of households in the country. That is not enough. Free-to-air has a much stronger penetration and there is strong interest from free-to-air. They've been interested in the Matildas and the international games being played here, and that is very good. Those opportunities were not there last time [the rights were available]."

GAIN A GREATER AUDIENCE

Speaking at a Melbourne Victory business luncheon on Friday, Lowy said FFA wanted to maximise the revenue it would garner from its next deal, but would have in mind gaining a greater audience reach for the sport, even though Fox Sports provided the bulk of the game's revenue.

"Our objective . . . is to work with the broader market. We have a clear understanding of the changes that are happening in regards to free-to-air television, subscription television and the newer methods of distribution."

In February, the FFA hired London-based strategic adviser Oliver & Ohlbaum to report on potential bidders for the rights, the different ways they could be packaged and their potential value.

The FFA has had a board sub-committee of Lowy and FFA directors Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Commonwealth Bank's Group executive of institutional banking and markets, and Crispin Murray, the head of BT Funds Management, working on the rights, and an advisory group including Melbourne City director Simon Pearce and Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow.

"We will approach it in a very businesslike fashion," Lowy said.

The FFA might try to strike a deal with broadcasters to take at least some of the rights from Fox Sports and SBS as early as next season, but that would be possible only with the co-operation of Fox Sports, he said.

"But obviously we will have serious discussions with Fox Sports and no doubt that will be part of the discussions."

SELL NEWCASTLE JETS

Lowy also said the FFA hoped to sell the Newcastle Jets to private investors in the off-season.

"We are expecting that to be sold soon. We are in the process of dealing with it, and we see it as an important matter," he said.

He also said many of the A-League clubs needed a wider base of investors to be more sustainable.

"We need to be more conscious of living within our means and bringing in more capital."

He reiterated the importance of the FFA's four-year plan, which includes a determined push to convert more grassroots participants into A-League and W-League fans and closer collaboration between the elite level of the game and other levels.

"The key issues of the strategy are a shifting of resources to the growth of the A-League and having a closer connection between all the stakeholders in the game," he said.

"There's the A-League clubs, the state bodies, the sponsors and so on. We have allocated resources and have to change mindsets and have them working closer together. There's a chasm now. The opportunity in the game is to connect the stakeholders."

 

[midfielder]

Been home all day got a medical thing to do bored so for what its worth ...

The A-League is ready for a commercial FTA station the schedule is relatively simple.

MV V SFC 3 games
MV V City 3 Games … CB 6
MV V AU 3 games ….CB 9
SFC V WSW 3 games … CB 12
WSW V AU 2 games …. CB 14
WSW V City 3 games … CB 17
Roar V SFC
Roar V WSW
Roar V City
Roar V Perth … 4 games … CB 21
SFC V City … 2 games .. CB 23
New V CCM .. 1 games … CB 24
WSW V New
WSW V CCM
WSW V Perth …. 3 games … CB 27

So far 27 games add the finals 5 games, add final 3 matches in the FFA Cup, add 16 i.e. 8 each Socceroo and Matilda matches.

That’s 52 matches including 16 internationals, 5 A-League finals, 3 FA cup finals, 17 derby A-League matches and 10 A-League matches with ratings teams.

The issues pertaining to allowing the above on FTA are to be negotiated with Fox. Fox currently want this schedule for itself. The next is the night, Fox want Saturday night which is what both 9 & 10 want.

What is also interesting is if we go back to prior to the last media deal. Fox wanted FTA exposure so there ratings would lift essentially saying they want Football across FTA to help them.

My back of the envelope cal’s and assumptions. With the lost of the EPL the Saturday night thing may be far more negotiable than in the past. The ratings normally Commercial FTA rates between 3 & 4 times that of Fox so even on the terrible SBS ratings of the past year then 250 to 300 K would be expected for the above schedule of A-League rounds, finals and international matches I have 23 matches my guess is across all 23 an average of a million.

So 27 matches between 250 & 300 K and 21 matches around a million… that as my uncle Leo would say is a SH*T easy sale.

 

[midfielder]

Been talking to a mate today and he is not a fool... he is in sports management but I stress he has no connection to any Hal club or the FFA and aside from a player in an Over 45 Div 3 team he has no connection with any Football management of any kind.

So please treat this as nothing more than a pub rumour at best maybe even less than a pub rumour and could be wishful thinking at its best.

My mate and not a fool said he heard so you get the idea a mate from a mate ... however he said the next media deal is between 80 and 110 million made up as follows. Again this is a wild rumour but I can say from a mate not known for making insane forecasts. Essentially Fox will pay a lot less than they do now but it will be spread a lot wider.

Friday or Sunday broadcast on SBS .... 7 to 10 million on their main channel with no BS this time.

A commercial FTA [rumour 9 or 10] 25 to 35 million for a Saturday night similar schedule to above plus finals plus live Socceroos and Matilda's

Fox ... 20 to 30 million all games live and Fox to met broadcasting costs [closer to the 20 million he thinks if this was the final make up]

BeIn sport for International rights ... 20 to 30 million

Telco Australian Digital rights .. 5 to 10 million

PNG & NZ FTA stations.. 2 to 6 million.

My guess would be the lower figures but if this did come to pass I would be very happy.

 

[pjennings]

Apologies in advance for the length of the post. While not really about the media deal I think the opportunity of the new media deal is also the time to be adventurous and the time to address structural issues. Simply put, 10 teams playing each other 3 times is getting repetitive. To grow football we need to grow the number of teams as well as the regions they represent.

Expansion

New format

If we are going to make a quantum leap - let's make it. 14 teams full home and away. Observe FIFA dates. Season 2017-18 should be preceded by a home Socceroo friendly on the weekend before the first round on the weekend of 14th-15th October. Another home Socceroo friendly plus the FFA cup final could be played on the weekend of 11th- 12th November with the final home Socceroo friendly on the weekend of March 24th/25th 2018. Finals would start on the weekend of 28th-29th April with the Grand Final on the weekend of 12th-13th May. I like the idea of tying the Socceroos, the HAL and the FFA Cup in a cohesive way - allowing each to take centre stage when appropriate.

The key to expansion is not population alone. It is market penetration within populations.

I am getting sick to death of Gallop's 'fish were the fishes are' mantra. The whole of football plan calls for 1,000,000 HAL members in 20 (now 19) years. There is no way that that will happen without expansion and without a vibrant second division.

Population increases would take us from 108,000 to 162,000 members. However, from there it is all about market penetration. We will need something around 2.75% of the population to be members to reach the FFA target, although realistically we will not have clubs everywhere so that number probably needs to be closer to 3.25% in the viable areas.

Smaller clubs engage better. The Mariners market penetration is 1.79% and Newcastle's is 1.61%. Brisbane's on the other hand is only 0.22% .

CCM would need to increase their 6048 membership to 14090 to meet their pro-rata target. Assuming Australia grows to 36million people in that time and maintaining current penetration rates they would get their membership to 9072. They would need an extra 55% in members on top of this to meet the FFA target. Quite a significant target you would think.

Now compare that to Sydney (SFC and WSW combined) where the current 31,039 would need to reach 218,750 to reach their pro-rata target. Population increases could take that to 46559.They would need an extra 370% in members on top of this to meet the FFA target. Obviously an unrealistic target given current penetration rates.

This is the fallacy of fish where the fishes are. We need clubs, in both cities and regions. However, the number of clubs in the cities need to grow and be much better at engagement.

On the 442 forum one poster suggested a team (ours actually) should target the north west. While not agreeing with that the purpose is to build a larger purpose base for the future Parramatta stadium

The suggestion was to have a club in the north west, train out of Valentine park, market themselves from Carlingford to Box Hill, seeking sponsorship from every business from Macquarie Park to Bella Vista. At the same time WSW to target they more traditional west and south west areas. In the interim this team and WSW would play out of Spotless and Homebush. The end result is two western sydney clubs both playing out of the new Parra stadium, each with rapidly growing catchment areas of 1mil+ where football is the largest participation sport. I would also agree with the establishment of another Sydney club in an area south of the M5, west to Heathcote Rd, down to Royal National Park and east to the Shire playing out of Kogarah.

The theory here is that increased tribalism, or identification with an area will increase the market penetration within the city to be close to that of the regions.

Illawarra and surrounds and Canberra and surrounds represent a population of over million people (by surrounds I am including within an hours drive not including Sydney) .

If Wollongong and Canberra could replicate the penetration rate of the Mariners then Canberra would have over 7000 members, approaching 9000 if you included the surrounding areas. The Illawarra would have close to 8000 members.

For a bit of context that would mean that Canberra would have a similar membership to Adelaide, Melbourne City and the Jets with only MVC, WSW and SFC substantially in front of them. While an Illawarra team would be slightly smaller (though with the potential to split loyalties with WSW from the Cambelltown/Camden areas) they would be in front of Perth, us, Brisbane and Wellington.

So my 4 teams would be a North West Sydney team, a Southern Sydney team, Canberra and the Illawarra. This would lead to a very NSW-centric competition which some may see as a problem but it reflects participant numbers and more teams can be added later. While MVC has the best penetration after the regions City is yet to establish themselves and cities like Brisbane and Perth struggle to support one team at the moment. Geelong which is proposed as a Victorian expansion club attracted few local residents to our game their this season, instead dragging many thousands from Melbourne.

Second Division

Given that we had nation-wide semi-professional league in 1977 (40 years before the upcoming media deal) I cannot see why we cannot do that again in 2017.NPL clubs operate as semi-pro at the moment so it is only the travel and accommodation that needs to be found. Some of that could be by increased sponsorship as well as some subsidisation from the new media deal.

With a bit of creativity these clubs could have their away games broadcast on the local digital stations attached to the main FTA channel that wins the HAL bid. Of course the quality of broadcast / number of cameras would be different than what we are used to and entry into this division would not require the same level of stadium.

The following areas have expressed a desire to be represented in the A League.

Gold Coast – Tweed (QLD/NSW)
Sunshine Coast (QLD)
Hobart (TAS)
Casey (Vic)
Geelong (VIC)
Townsville (QLD)
Cairns (QLD)
Ipswich (QLD)
Darwin (NT)
Launceston/Northern Tas (TAS)
The Goldfields area (Ballarat and Bendigo) (VIC)
Coffs Coast/Lismore (NSW)

A second Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide team would also be needed and of course there are a number of ex NSL clubs that would no doubt want to make the move. Surely we can find 12-16 viable areas at a second division level to play above the current state NPLs

Sorry once again for my long-windedness but we simply cannot continue with 10 teams and the media deal gives us the opportunity to make fundamental changes.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Don;t apologise. Good read and thoughts. Cheers PJ

 

[midfielder]

PJ

Adding to your post above I have always believed the answer to Football crowds and ratings lies with the Associations.

We have according to the Whole of Football Report a conversion rate of player to Hall viewer of 18%. Other Football codes the conversion rate is 86% of people who play watch the NRL , AFL, & Rugby.

At training with O 35's many if not most show little interest in Hal. At junior levels say U 6 to U 16 it's been my experience that parents of these players see Football more as a safe activity to get kids out of the house and into sport and very few show any interest in Hal, very often are more interested in the NRL match on that night.

The Northern Spirit arguably the most successful club in Sydney in the last years of the NSL directly marketed to the local park teams and enjoyed averages not that different to SFC. Spirit got the support of many of the local park teams presidents and committees and IMO marketing and finding out what the 700 odd clubs in Australia want and say 6 per club on the committee thats just over 4, 000 people who are in direct contact with the players. These people are already sold on Football not even a hard sell is needed just find out what they want.

Your penetration argument is very valid and what has annoyed me for a long time is not the lack of community engagement but the lack of marketing directly to clubs at local park level especially by the bigger clubs.

On the expansion to 14 teams and the development of a "B" league I think it will come but not for a while as I don't think their is the money to support it. While I agree on the direction it is quite expensive.

However on the revenue side of things youtube are getting more and more involved with sports broadcasting. They pay you a % of the revenue they collect. The model I have seen youtube have used would very much suit the "B" league you suggest.

It works like this, the match is broadcast world wide as its on the net and whoever logs in will get those pop up ads and then ads at the top of the screen. These ads will be directed at the local market you are from and for things your history shows you buy. Rather than a TV ad telling us about Holden cars thus a very general ad. You get and ad selling you pizza around dinner time because that has been your spending pattern.

Essentially youtube and google have collected so much about you that small and local advertisers can advertise to a local and not have to pay for a national broadcast. Because the ad is directed at both someone nearby and for what their history shows they buy Advertisers are prepared to pay a reasonable amount per ad. The matches would be broadcast free.

I think and I could be wrong but Baseball in Australia is using this method now and its working well.

Good read PJ

 

[pjennings]

Expansion

New format

If we are going to make a quantum leap - let's make it. 14 teams full home and away. Observe FIFA dates. Season 2017-18 should be preceded by a home Socceroo friendly on the weekend before the first round on the weekend of 14th-15th October. Another home Socceroo friendly plus the FFA cup final could be played on the weekend of 11th- 12th November with the final home Socceroo friendly on the weekend of March 24th/25th 2018. Finals would start on the weekend of 28th-29th April with the Grand Final on the weekend of 12th-13th May. I like the idea of tying the Socceroos, the HAL and the FFA Cup in a cohesive way - allowing each to take centre stage when appropriate.

Just a further thought to this. To help with the 'magic of the cup' I would bring in the HAL teams at the round of 64 in an open draw. This would first of all extend the period over which the HAL teams play meaningful games. It would also maximise the chance of upsets as the timing would suit the NPL teams better. I would play 8 games a week, 2 on Friday night, 3 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday until we got to the round of 16. I know this would cause scheduling clashes with the NPL and lower leagues but that can be worked through.

So the Calendar would begin

Thursday, 8 June 2017 Australia vs Saudia Arabia WCQ

Saturday, 17 June 2017 Beginning of Confederations Cup
Sunday, 2 July 2017 Confederations Cup Final

Friday , 11th August 2017 - Sunday 3 September 2017 - FFA Cup round of 64 matches

Tuesday, 5 September 2017 Australia vs Thailand WCQ

Friday 8 September 2017 - Sunday 17 September 2017 - FFA Cup round of 32 matches

Friday 22 September 2017 - Sunday 24 September 2017 - FFA Cup round of 16 matches

Friday 29 September 2017 - Saturday 30 September 2017 FFA Cup Quarter finals

Saturday, 7 October 2017 Socceroo Friendly

Sunday, 8 October 2017 FFA Cup Semi-finals

Friday 13 October 2017 Round 1 - Sunday 5 November 2017 Rounds HAL rounds 1 -4

Saturday, 11 November 2017 Socceroo Friendly
Sunday, 12 November 2017 FFA Cup Final

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Love it.

 

[midfielder]

Optus enters the fray for A-League, Socceroos broadcast rights


Optus is pursuing broadcast rights for the A-League and a number of Socceroos matches to bolster its football offering as it faces criticism for limiting its English Premier League coverage to its own customers.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/m...roadcast-rights-20160512-gotuig#ixzz48n6AXeHx

 

[dibo]

There'd better be a FTA component, otherwise football's going to be hidden away from everyone who isn't an Optus customer.

 

[midfielder]

Interesting from AFR been talked about last year as well .. makes sense for all concerned to see if the A-league is ready for commercial FTA..

Football Federation Australia wants to explore a deal which would bring the A-League to commercial free-to-air television a year before its contract with SBS runs out mid next year.

Moving the league on from the public broadcaster a year ahead of schedule would hinge on negotiations for the rights from 2017 onwards being brought forward and put subscription rights holder Fox Sports, which has first and last rights, in the box seat.

It is unlikely that a commercial free-to-air broadcaster would want to take on the rights for the final year of the current contract without having secured the next deal.

Additionally, Fox Sports, which holds the rights and would need to sanction a Saturday night game, the preferred match, moving to free-to-air in the current deal, would be unlikely to do so without signing a new long-term contract.

It is still early days with the FFA engaging with a number of interested parties and beginning official negotiations in late April, as first revealed by Fairfax Media.

The FFA is keen to move the one free-to-air game, which is on SBS on Friday nights, to a new commercial partner, with Ten on the record as keenly interested – however price will be an important factor.

It is understood Ten are keen on a Saturday game.

Fox Sports are understood to be open to allowing a Saturday night game on free-to-air. However, it would be need to be simulcast.

Fox Sports has held the rights to the A-League since its inception in 2005.

The current $40 million per season, four-year deal, which expires in mid-2017, sees Fox Sports show all matches, including the weekend's higher-rating derbies and rivalry games. SBS has rights to show one Friday match live each week, and the finals series on delay.

Prior to the beginning of the A-League season, which just finished with Adelaide United winning its first grand final, it looked as though SBS might sell its current free-to-air rights to a commercial broadcaster such as Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media or Network Ten. However, a deal failed to materialise.

The A-League, which had been moved to SBS's main channel during the second year of the deal, was moved back to SBS2 for the latest season.

"It's been reasonably well documented that FFA and SBS have explored alternatives," FFA chief executive David Gallop said at the time.

Optus is also running its ruler over the FFA's broadcast rights, as revealed by Fairfax Media, as it looks to bolster its football offering following its $189 million swoop for rights to the English Premier League over three years.

"We're looking at it seriously," Optus chief executive Allen Lew told Fairfax Media last month. "If it makes sense and it adds value to what we are providing football fans, at a commercial deal that we feel is fair, then we will see how we can bring it across. But, it's early days and let's see what happens."

As part of a deal with SBS, Optus will allow the TV broadcaster to show one EPL match per week on Saturday nights for the next three seasons. The agreement with SBS includes rights for Optus to broadcast FIFA events, including the 2018 men's World Cup and the 2019 women's World Cup.

Read more: http://www.afr.com/business/media-a...-freetoair-television-options-20160602-gp9qua#ixzz4Al5innRe

 

[midfielder]

J-League sign huge 1.8 billion streaming deal. Possibly the future of broadcasting.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Japanese-soccer-gets-1.8bn-UK-streaming-deal?page=1

 

[dibo]

What do you mean "the future"? Optus is already doing the 2016/17 EPL by streaming only.

 

[midfielder]

From 442 seems SBS will not be bidding for the next Socceroo rights and we will be with Fox , a FTA commercial and other things and a bumper deal is hoped.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/ffa-confident-bumper-deal-despite-lack-roo-rights

FFA confident of bumper deal despite lack of 'roo rights

Even though the next stage of the Socceroos Asian World Cup qualifiers will not be included in the next television broadcast deal, FFA CEO David Gallop is hopeful that the A-League will have a free-to-air presence.
Currently, FFA does not own or control the media rights for the next phase of the World Cup qualifiers. The AFC retained those rights and assigned them to its commercial partner Lagadere - previously known as World Sports group.
At the moment FFA are in an exclusive negotiating period with Fox Sports but that expires at the end of September. And looking ahead Gallop said the governing body was looking for the new TV rights deal to be a combination that includes the existing rights holder as well as a terrestrial component as well.
“We have made it clear we are looking for a mix of the existing arrangement with Fox Sports,” he said. “But we are looking for a free to air partner as well.”
Even though the inclusion of the pivotal third phase of the Socceroos Asian World Cup games will not be included with the A-League TV rights, Gallop said that the Socceroos friendly games will be part of the bundle.
“There are aspects of the Socceroos that are held by Lagadere,” he said. “That’s always been the case and we are continuing to work through how that will impact on the upcoming negotiation. It is the last round of qualifiers but there are other games that are held by us to sell that is part of the interesting mix that we are going through at the moment.”
However, SBS, who broadcast the 2014 Socceroos World Cup Qualifiers says it will not show the Australian national team’s attempt to qualify for the 2018 version.
“At this point in time the next stage of the Asian World Cup Qualifiers does not form part of SBS’s football offering,” said a spokesperson for the network.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I wonder what AFC pay the federations in return for the rights?

Presumably less than the FFA can sell them for i guess