AFL radio broadcast deal signed as commentators come out of contract – MASHAHER

The AFL will land a modest new radio deal with all of its long-time rights holders after months of tense negotiations that threatened to leave the game without an FM broadcaster after Triple M refused to budge on its drastically cut-priced offer.

For the new Andrew Dillon regime the soon-to-be-signed three-year deal has proved the first tangible reality check of the fragile media scene – a vastly different commercial environment than that of 2022 when Gillon McLachlan oversaw a $4.5 billion, seven-year broadcast deal.

The AFL had entertained a seven-year multi-network radio contract ending in 2031 in line with the Seven-Foxtel-Telstra deal, then looked at five years, but has ultimately settled on a three-year term ending in 2027 in the hope commercial conditions will have improved by then.

The deal will also have a significant bearing on the wider media landscape given that most key callers at Triple M and 3AW were coming out of contract after the 2024 grand final. They include Brian Taylor, Mark Howard, Luke Darcy and Jason Dunstall at Triple M and Tim Lane, Anthony Hudson, Tony Leonard, Bruce Eva and Matthew Lloyd at 3AW.

With Dillon becoming involved in the talks at the start of September, negotiations stalled when the radio broadcasters were told the AFL would only accept a two-year deal given the lower numbers involved. The radio networks would not accept two years.

The prospect of losing Southern Cross Austereo’s Triple M ultimately proved untenable for the AFL and its CEO of less than 12 months given its important demographic and the stark absence of no other genuine bidder this time around in the FM sphere.

Nine’s 3AW will call one extra game next season but pay proportionally less for the radio rights, although AFL insiders who would not be quoted due to commercial sensitivities said the final overall deal across all networks would be a small net gain on the last agreement.

One reason for the net gain is that the league will cut back on services to 3AW and Triple M such as hospitality at the Brownlow Medal, the grand final, the September Club and Gather Round.