Australian commercial broadcaster Seven will acquire the rights to the Victorian and West Australian Aussie rules competitions, the VFL and WAFL, after public-service broadcaster the ABC dropped its regional coverage of the sport, according to The Australian newspaper.
Seven and the AFL, the top division of Aussie rules in Australia, have not confirmed the deal. However, the AFL said ABC’s agreement to broadcast a weekly VFL game applied solely for the 2014 season and the ABC was “unable to commit” to the future broadcasting of games.
“As a result, the AFL and AFL Victoria are in discussions with other interested parties and remain confident that VFL games will be broadcast in 2015 and beyond,” AFL corporate affairs manager James Tonkin said.
The Australian added the WAFL is yet to secure a replacement broadcaster for next year, but Seven is the preferred destination due to broadcast and commercial synergies with its national AFL rights deal.
ABC has said that federal government funding cuts are behind the decision to end its agreements.
ABC spokesman Nick Leys added the broadcaster was “unable to commit to new seasons until the current budget situation was resolved’’ and indicated it would not oppose the VFL and WAFL looking elsewhere for a rights partner.