Rupert Murdoch sat behind a microphone, a hand pass away from a yellow Sherrin, and declared, “we have always preferred Aussie rules”. It was August 2015 and Murdoch was speaking at the announcement of a $2.5bn six-year broadcast rights contract signed between the Australian Football League, Foxtel, the Seven Network and Telstra – the richest such deal signed by any sporting code in Australian history.
In far less public surrounds, a new deal between the AFL and broadcasters is currently being thrashed out. There is speculation the five-year deal could cost $600m a season – $3bn in total – and Foxtel claims it has the “capacity” to pay top dollar, after News Corp reported a $1.1bn profit.
