Australian commercial broadcaster Nine has confirmed its interest in acquiring rights for the Australian Football League (AFL) Aussie rules tournament, according to the Australian Financial Review newspaper.
Nine executive Jeff Browne is said to have met with AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan last week to discuss the broadcaster’s interest in securing one match per round of the AFL on Saturdays. If Nine picked up the rights to the weekly game slot, it would not interfere with the broadcaster’s coverage of the National Rugby League, the country’s top rugby league competition, on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.
The AFL will begin talks in the coming months over a new five-year rights cycle, from 2017 to 2021, and McLachlan has already held talks with various television executives in recent weeks.
Incumbent free-to-air rights holder Seven has stated its desire to retain the majority of the rights. Commercial broadcaster Ten is also said to be keen on securing at least one match per week.