Australian public-service broadcaster SBS has secured rights to English Premier League football club Arsenal’s pre-season exhibition matches in Australia.
SBS will broadcast live coverage of Arsenal’s games against Australian A-League teams Sydney FC and Western Sydney on the SBS Viceland channel.
Both matches will also be streamed live via the broadcaster’s ‘The World Game’ website and mobile application. Arsenal will play Sydney FC on July 13 and Western Sydney on July 15.
SBS brokered the rights deal with Venues Live, the promoter of both matches, rather than the Football Federation of Australia (FFA), the sport’s governing body in the country.
Citing Fairfax Media, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said that the FFA opted to return its mandate to sell the rights back to Venues Live after it was unable to strike a deal with a broadcaster.