Australian commercial broadcasters Seven and Nine plan to significantly increase their advertising rates for the AFL Aussie rules football league and NRL rugby league competition in a bid to cover the cost of rights, according to The Australian newspaper.
In August 2015, the AFL awarded its next cycle of domestic rights to Seven, pay-television operator Foxtel and telco Telstra. The rights will cover six years, from 2017 to 2022, and will be worth a total of A$2.508bn (€1.7bn/$1.9bn), or A$418m per year. This is a 67-per-cent increase on the recently completed five-year cycle, from 2012 to 2016, worth A$250m per year.
Seven West Media chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette said Seven plans to introduce an increase of up to 15 per cent in advertising rates next season as the new AFL rights deal takes effect. He told The Australian: “The rise is in line with where we think the audience and new ways of selling will take us. The rates will change accordingly.
“The 15 or 30 seconds between goals is the most valuable real estate in Australia. If you’re watching live sport you’re not going to look away or fast-forward. It’s unavoidable. We have some ideas about how we can make these breaks even more impactful.”
The Australian said a 30-second AFL spot in prime time during the regular season currently costs around A$30,000. The newspaper added that Nine is planning a similar price rise of about 15 per cent for its NRL coverage, taking the average cost of a 30-second advert up to A$34,500.