Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Fox Sports have today announced that the ABC is the official Free-to-Air Television Broadcaster Partner of the Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League, Caltex Socceroos and Westfield Matildas for the next two years.
This will be the first time that the Hyundai A-League will be broadcast on the ABC and also marks a return of the Westfield W-League to the network which was the inaugural broadcast partner of the competition from 2008 to 2017.
Under the new agreement, 29 live matches will be broadcast on ABC TV and iview throughout the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Season and, for the Hyundai A-League 2020 Finals Series, delayed broadcasts of one Elimination Final, one Semi Final and the Hyundai A-League 2020 Grand Final. Fourteen (14) Rounds of the Westfield W-League 2019/20 Season and the entire Westfield W-League 2020 Finals Series will also be broadcast live on ABC TV.
The ABC will also broadcast every Caltex Socceroos match to which Fox Sports, on Foxtel, carries rights.
The upcoming Westfield Matildas international friendlies against Chile at Bankwest Stadium (Saturday 9 November) and Coopers Stadium (Tuesday 12 November) will be broadcast live on ABC, along with next year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Asian Qualifiers.
Fox Sports will continue to broadcast live all Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League, Caltex Socceroos and Westfield Matildas matches via Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
APFCA Chair, Paul Lederer, underscored the importance of the Hyundai A-League being broadcast by the national broadcaster for the first time in the competition’s history.
“To have the Hyundai A-League and Westfield 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,” he said.
“The ABC’s television, radio, digital and social platforms will allow the Australian professional game to access and engage even more fans through more touch points.
“The nature of the agreement and the negotiations leading to it are testament to the benefits that exist for all of the parties involved.
“Our commitment as Clubs is to ensure that we deliver to all of our broadcast partners Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League seasons worthy of the opportunity that has been created.”
FFA Chairman, Chris Nikou, was equally pleased that ABC would be a broadcast partner for the next two years.
“The ABC has been long term supporter of football on both television and radio and we are delighted that our partnership will grow further over the next two years,” he said.
“The reach and audience on ABC will complement the Fox Sports and Kayo offerings and also that of the MyFootballLive app, allowing more Australians to access to our leagues and national teams on the device of their choosing anywhere, anytime.”
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