Aussie rules football league the AFL has teamed up with domestic rights-holder, pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports, to launch a “groundbreaking” streaming service targeting international fans and Australians living or travelling overseas.
Under the new partnership, every AFL match in 2017 will be delivered live and on demand via the Watch AFL app.
The service will be available for the AFL Women's competition, the JLT Community Series and for the entirety of the AFL Premiership season. It will also include Fox Sports’ AFL entertainment shows.
Watch AFL will be Fox Sports Australia’s first direct-to-consumer international streaming product, while the agreement also marks its first move into international distribution. Fox Sports said the new platform will also provide a “blueprint” to explore similar opportunities with rights-holders across the company’s full portfolio of sports.
Subscription costs were not disclosed, but the service will be free until March 23, which is when the men’s season kicks off. The new service can be accessed at watchafl.com.au, or with the Watch AFL app available on Android and iOS devices.
Fox Sports chief executive, Patrick Delany, said: “The innovative new Watch AFL service will deliver AFL to more markets, across more platforms reaching more fans than ever before.”