As the tag line goes, it's “Our ABC” – and now it well and truly is with confirmation on Friday morning that the ABC is the new free-to-air partner of the A-League, W-League, the Socceroos and Matildas for the next two years.
Under the agreement, officially announced on Friday morning, 29 live A-League matches will be broadcast on ABC-TV and iView at 5pm every Saturday, 14 matches every Sunday at 4pm of the W-League, as well as delayed broadcasts of A-League finals and live broadcasts of the W-League finals.
The ABC will also broadcast every Socceroos match to which FOX Sports currently has the rights, as well as the upcoming friendly matches between the Matildas and Chile in November and the Asian qualifers for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
“To have the Hyundai A-League and W-League on a primary free-to-air network is an important evolution in the execution of our broadcast strategy and extends the power and impact of our FOX Sports partnership,” said Chairman of the Australian Professional Football Clubs' Association (APFCA), Paul Lederer.
“The ABC’s radio, digital and social platforms will allow the Australian professional game to access and engage even more fans through more touch points,” said Lederer.
FFA Chairman, Chris Nikou, said he was also pleased wth the partnership.
“We are also extremely excited about the network-wide support ABC will bring to football. ABC is the home of iconic programming that Australians have grown up consuming and we look forward to working with the network to deliver more football content and cross promotion,” Nikou said.
The ABC also expressed their delight with the Director of Regional and Local, Judith Whelan, noting the ABC's “unrivalled reach into every corner of Australia”.
Whelan said that the ABC plans to use all platforms to drive audiences to the ABC's television coverage.
The deal means A-League games will be broadcast by ABC TV for the first time, and marks a return for the W-League, which had a home with the ABC from 2008 until 2017 (assisted by a Rudd Government grant for the first four years).
The first match to be shown on the ABC will be the Socceroos World Cup qualifier against Nepal next Thursday in Canberra.
FOX Sports will continue to broadcast live all A-League, W-League, Socceroos and Matildas matches via Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
It is understood that the chief negotiators for the deal on behalf of football were Sydney FC CEO, Danny Townsend, and the Acting CEO of the A-League, Greg O'Rourke.