At a time when sports broadcast rights are booming across the world, Channel Seven chief Tim Worner has declared his network will make a "sensible" decision when it comes to reapplying for the AFL rights.
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Seven, Foxtel/Fox Sports and Telstra are the current rights-holders in the five-year, $1.25 billion deal, with negotiations set to formally begin within weeks for a new contract, starting in 2017. This deal could be for as long as a decade.
Ten and Nine have already expressed interest in bidding, while the league could yet produce a game of its own per week via its website and available on hand-held devices.
Bidding is set to start at about $1.5 billion. Roger Colman, an experienced research analyst with CCZ Stratton Equities, told Fairfax Media earlier this year he had not ruled out a new broadcasting deal reaching $2 billion but said it was more likely to fall short.
While live sport, in particular the AFL, has become a key plank of Seven's offerings, Worner said his network would take a pragmatic approach during negotiations. "There's no 'whatever it takes', you know. There are sensible decisions, and we'll be making a sensible decision," he said.
Worner would not speculate on what the ultimate cost would be. "We have a policy of polite silence on not just sports rights negotiations but all content negotiations, so I would adhere to that," he said.
Official discussions will begin when tender documents are distributed to networks. AFL chiefs hope to have a deal struck by midway through next year.
Sports rights continue to escalate across the world, with America's four major competitions – the NBA, NFL, baseball and ice-hockey – all enjoying strong deals. The NBA recently inked a stunning nine-year, $24 billion deal, beginning in 2017, but the market here is so much smaller and networks do not have anywhere near the same funds.
Nine's ability to seriously bid could be impacted by its NRL commitments, while Ten's chief Hamish McLennan has said his network is interested depending on what was available. Ten had the free-to-air rights to Saturday matches and had been involved in finals and the grand final between 2002 and 2011 before dropping out of the last round of discussions.
The AFL could also look to do a deal with the Apple TV network, while Google and YouTube could also emerge in discussions over the digital rights.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, whose media company McGuire Media may produce the VFL coverage from next season, has warned the AFL needs to preserve and enhance its number of blockbusters, ensuring the networks of strong ratings and, in return, a more lucrative deal.
The AFL made a point of scheduling several blockbusters in the opening month of the home-and-away campaign next season.
