Ten bumps FTA A-Leagues game from main channel; two weekly games on 10 Bold
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) and Paramount has released its new television schedule for the launch of next month’s 2022-23 A-Leagues season, bringing an additional game per week from behind its paywall, however both games will now be aired on Network 10’s secondary channel, 10 Bold.
The Isuzu Ute A-League Mens matches will now be broadcast on 10 Bold at 7.45pm on a Saturday and Sundays at 3pm, bringing an additional 26 games to free-to-air across the season. Last season, the network aired one weekly game on its main channel – Channel 10 on a Saturday night, however struggled for ratings in its first year.
Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Mackenzie Hawkesby, Archie Thompson, Tara Rushton, and Alexia Apostolakis
Notably, this season’s FTA games will be ad-free from the first whistle to the last, after last season saw fan complaints regarding ads being run during play.
The Liberty A-League Womens games will all be made available live and free on Ten’s BVOD service, 10 Play the APL said, in order to boost the sport in the lead up to the Women’s World Cup in 2023, set to be held in Australia.
The entirety of both league’s games will be shown live on Paramount+, with mini-matches, highlights, and replays also on the service.
Asked about the possibility of more games on its FTA channels on the Mumbrellacast in June, Paramount chief sales officer Rod Prosser said nothing is out of the equation.
“We have both the SVOD and FTA rights, and we’re one business, so we can work with our partners on scheduling and where it makes sense, of course we would put more games onto 10, or if it made sense, we could reinvent the schedule completely. We’re one business, and when you have ownership across those platforms, you get flexibility and the ability to work with the sporting partners to actually execute what will be the best schedule. So we will always be open-minded to any of that.”
He also responded to a question over ads during gameplay, which have now been removed with the shift to Bold.
“We’ve already made tweaks to that,” he said. “But look, ultimately we’re a commercial business. And therefore we have to operate and behave like a commercial business. If viewers don’t want that, then potentially it may all just go back behind a paywall. So you can blame me for that, because I’m a commercial guy and I like making money off the rights that we acquire, and that was part of it.
“So look, we want to make sure that the viewers get the best experience possible. That’s first and foremost, but we are a commercial business that needs to make money off these rights so we can bring all Australians a great coverage.”
Asked about the move away from its primary channel, the APL told Mumbrella there was “not one single reason”, but that airing two games across the weekend on the main channel wouldn’t have been possible from a scheduling perspective, with this move providing consistency for fans as 10 Bold is now “the home of football”.
The interview with Prosser begins at 12.05.
APL CEO, Danny Townsend said: “Paramount ANZ is a committed partner in growing football in Australia, and this season’s broadcast schedule is designed to deliver more football to more Australian homes with 26 additional men’s games on 10 Bold and almost 100 women’s games on 10 Play. Football fans will know exactly where and when they will be able to watch A-Leagues football, week in and week out.”
“Making every single Liberty A-League Women game available live and free on 10 Play means that every girl in Australia can turn on their device and have sporting role models at their fingertips. With nine months to go until the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup, we are maximising the opportunity to access the game at every level.”
Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president and chief content officer, Paramount Australia and New Zealand said: “Both Paramount ANZ and the APL are guided by and committed to a vision to unite, entertain, and further grow the football audience in Australia, ensuring fans are treated to the best seats in the house.”
“The multi-platform broadcast approach guarantees increased availability and accessibility while acknowledging the changing consumption habits of A-Leagues fans.”
2021-22 Champions, Western United
The schedule was developed after the first season of A-Leagues on Paramount ANZ’s platforms, which saw the free-to-air broadcast of the A-Leagues reach more than 6.5 million Australian football fans.
Casey Dumont of Melbourne Victory said: “When I was growing up, I was rarely able to see professional female athletes on TV. Today, it is completely normal for young girls and boys to watch both men and women at the highest level and know that a pathway to elite sport exists for them. This is a really significant step forward to ensuring greater access to the professional game, especially for young girls.”
Josh Risdon of Western United said: “Last season was one of the most challenging ever with all the disruptions from COVID. This year, the fixture schedule is set, we have 26 more men’s games on 10 Bold and we are going to put on the best show for as many fans as possible every single week. Football really is back.”
The A-Leagues Men league kicks off on 7 October and runs until 30 April, followed by a finals series in May. The women’s schedule will be released in due course. The league will also break for one month at the end of this year, in line with the FIFA World Cup.
Got a tip?
Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
Linkedin
Have your say