Network Ten is set to make a major bid to secure the A-League's free-to-air broadcast rights next season and increase the number of games televised live each week, potentially challenging Fox Sports as the major broadcaster of the competition.

Ten's loss of the Big Bash League cricket to Seven and Fox Sports could become a blessing for football, with the network eager to bolster its live sports coverage and acquire the rights of a weekly national competition to challenge rival codes and networks.

The Herald understands Ten is looking to become the long-term FTA broadcaster of the A-League and televise as many weekly live games as possible during the competitive summer of sport in Australia.Ten has entered discussions with Football Federation Australia over the FTA component of the A-League's broadcast rights, which is available as of next season. Sources suggest the network has not ruled out potentially challenging Fox Sports for a greater share of games

We are in discussions with Channel 10 but it’s not appropriate to go into the details at this point," FFA chief David Gallop said. "We need to protect the substantial investment that Fox Sports have made in the A-League while recognising that free-to-air coverage opens the game to more eyeballs."

A Network Ten spokeswoman declined to comment on discussions relating to the A-League TV rights when contacted on Friday.

That arrangement has been a sore point for FFA and A-League clubs as Ten have not been incentivised to promote games or take an active role in the broadcast of the competition. However, that could soon change.

With A-League expansion leading to six weekly games in 2020 instead of five, sources suggest Ten is hoping to seize on the opportunity to increase the number of games it televises each week. While that appetite from a network would be welcomed news for a competition that's experienced a slump in TV ratings in recent years, the timing poses a problem for FFA.

While FFA has four more seasons to run with Fox Sports as part of the A-League's broadcast rights, the FTA component is yet to be sold for next season. Under the current broadcast rights with Fox Sports which expire in 2023, one A-League game per week is to be televised on FTA television with the Saturday night match of each round now shown on Ten's digital channel, One.

However, Ten has no direct partnership with the A-League or FFA despite televising one game a week. Its broadcast of the competition relates to a deal with Fox Sports, whereby the pay TV company purchased the Saturday night timeslot from Ten to broadcast its own coverage of the A-League. Under that arrangement which expires at the end of this season, it's understood Fox Sports retains all advertising revenue from the A-League coverage on Ten.

The A-League is set to become independent of the governing body by the start of next season, with clubs to take ownership of the competition and its governance, meaning FFA's control of the A-League ends in a matter of months. Club sources suggest they are eager to keep the Fox Sports deal in tact, worth $57.6 million a year, after the league splits from FFA. Outside of international competitions, FFA will still be able to sell rights for Socceroos and Matildas games.

Ten has shown a significant appetite to increase its live sports coverage of late, securing the Wallabies 2019 Rugby World Cup games. The network has the rights to delayed coverage of Super Rugby games on top of motor sports such as Formula One.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/network-ten-set-to-bid-for-a-league-tv-rights-20190329-p518ye.html

Would be massive.

Very suspicious 

Looks like no one wants it. Again.  

1st of April is Monday guys, editor released this one early. 

Won’t happen, just like SKY Sports paying more for the A League.

Yes an article on Channel 10 bidding for the A-league & you write 'Looks like no one wants it'.

Ummmmmm.

I wonder how much would be on offer.

Of course forum bitters will say that. What does one expect.

They still believe 3 years tops.

FMD ... there’s life in the old girl yet 😁

The A-League lives??

As we've seen with the current FTA arrangement, the lack of marketing and promotion is the real issue.
SBS marketed and promoted the hell out of they A League when they had it.
10 have done virtually nothing to market and promote the product.
That has been THE KEY difference. 
The move to 10 has proven that it is the amount of marketing and promotion that you put into the product that delivers the audience.

Exactly. Look at the marketing WAFL gets, and the audience, and its an absolutely woeful product. Even an AFL addict friend agrees about the level of the product, but it gets quite a significant audience.

A slap in the face for the nuovo new dawners

This stopped being funny a week after you started spamming it

I'd love for Ten to get more games and Optus the rest. 

In the article 
"However, Ten has no direct partnership with the A-League or FFA despite televising one game a week. Its broadcast of the competition relates to a deal with Fox Sports, whereby the pay TV company purchased the Saturday night timeslot from Ten to broadcast its own coverage of the A-League. Under that arrangement which expires at the end of this season, it's understood Fox Sports retains all advertising revenue from the A-League coverage on Ten."

In this arrangement 10 don't care about marketing, Fox is paying for the timeslot, I assume the idea is to get non subscribers interested, but clearly 10 see's potential.  

They have no other sports, got to role the dice on something

Libel ? is that you ?:P

I thought people said tv was dead? Is this good news then?

Sure is

That thing that everybody said was going to save our code, which only made things worse, is going to save our code. I just know it!

Heard it all before. 

What the hell are you talking about? Nobody watches WAFL outside West Australia? It's a miniscule audience!!!!!

10 promoted the hell out of the big bash and skyrocketed its popularity as a mainstream sport.
Fingers crossed they do something similar with a waning A League 

There's no evidence that TEN would do that for Football.  We often forget that the BBL was already getting big audiences on Fox before TEN bought the rights.  It's not as if it was a stab in the dark that the BBL was going to be popular.

Competition is good. Hopefully something is made of it.

I just think there are so many positive to market the league but as I said when I first joined here do a controversial ad that gets people’s attention, challenge the people that bag the sport being about divers, low scores and shit skills show footage of the opposite happening we need to be more arrogant market blokes like grant, Bruno, Riley McGree, ect

April Fools everybody!

I though channel 10 hard no money? As they couldn't afford to keep the cricket and that other sport.

C10 now have an American parent company.

However to answer your question nomates, they don’t have money - that’s why they’re looking at the A League