Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop has said that it is unlikely that pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports will renew its domestic rights deal for the top-tier A-League before the start of the new season.
The broadcaster, which has rights for the competition through to mid-2017, has an exclusive negotiating period with the federation until the end of September.
According to FourFourTwo.com, Gallop said that the window for a deal to be struck was now “slim.”
FFA has not been able to begin any talks with free-to-air broadcasters due to the exclusivity phase, but Gallop said Fox Sports could sublicense on the rights to such platforms.
“As we understand it, all free-to-air networks are interested and those conversations are happening between the FTAs and Fox,” Gallop said.
Referring to telecommunications company Optus, which has rights for football’s English Premier League in Australia, Gallop added: “Their focus is on football content. We can’t actively talk to them during this period but they’ve indicated a strong appetite for the A-League.”