Coverage of the A-League will be available worldwide during the 2017-18 season after the IMG agency unveiled an expanded rights distribution footprint for the top tier of Australian football.
IMG, which was appointed as Football Federation Australia’s international rights distribution partner in June, has sealed “a number of new agreements” in recent months, according to FFA, with the expanded OZ.com/a-league OTT platform allowing fans for the first time to watch action in any country not covered by a rights deal.
FFA added that negotiations are ongoing with broadcasters in territories such as the Middle East, North America and South America, with announcements due to be made shortly. An announcement on international broadcasters for the W-League women’s competition will be made closer to the start of the season. The A-League season got underway last weekend, while the W-League campaign will begin on October 27.
The A-League’s international broadcasters for the new season are: beIN Sports in Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Spain and Thailand; K-Ball in China; I-Cable in Hong Kong; Neo Sports in India; StarHub in Singapore; BT Sport in the UK; Sportdigital in Austria, Germany and Switzerland; DAZN in Germany; Arena Sports in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia; Pasifika TV in the Cook Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu; Telekom TV in the Solomon Islands; Fiji Broadcasting Corporation in Fiji; and Sport24, which will show coverage on flights and cruise ships.
Additionally, Kwesé has a deal to show A-League action in: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros Islands, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, South Africa, St Helena and Ascension, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.