US pay-television channel Fox Soccer Plus agreed three-year rights deals, from 2012 to 2014, with the Australian Football League and the English Rugby Football League.
Fox Soccer Plus’s exclusive coverage of the AFL, Australia’s top Australian rules football league, will include live coverage of two regular season matches per week, the finals series, and the grand final. A weekly highlights programme will also be shown. Fox acquired the rights in a deal directly with the league.
Fox’s deal with English rugby league body the RFL includes exclusive rights to the Super League, Challenge Cup and the World Club Challenge. With the 2012 season already underway, Fox’s deal covers the remainder of this season, plus the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
The addition of the AFL and RFL rights to Fox Soccer’s portfolio follows the acquisition at the end of last month of exclusive rights to Australia’s National Rugby League and the regional State of Origin series – rugby league competitions – in a two-year deal, from 2012 to 2013. The channel is marketing itself as “America’s premium television network dedicated to delivering the world’s best soccer and rugby”.