Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has partnered with Hockey Australia to support the launch of its new elite domestic league.
Hockey Australia has revamped both the men’s and women’s leagues to create a new competition – Hockey One – that will start later this year, replacing the Australian Hockey League.
Fox Sports will televise the Hockey One finals live, with streaming platform Kayo Sports set to serve as the main hub for the competition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The first edition of Hockey One will feature seven new clubs based in Australia’s major cities playing home-and-away matches from late September. This is followed by a finals series in mid-November, with concurrent men’s and women’s competitions played in a double-header format.
The new clubs are Adelaide Fire, Brisbane Blaze, Canberra Chill, HC Melbourne, NSW Pride, Perth Thundersticks and Tassie Tigers.
Hockey Australia chief executive Matt Favier said: “The feedback we received from numerous surveys and research conducted in recent years with Australian hockey fans, players and officials has shown there is an appetite for a new approach to our domestic hockey league, much like other sports have adopted like cricket’s Big Bash League.”