Network 10 has categorically refuted claims suggesting it is considering terminating its broadcast agreement with A-League Football prematurely.
This rebuttal comes in response to conjecture initiated by social media sports pundit Matt Vandenberg. Vandenberg speculated on X (Twitter), that Paramount ANZ—Network 10’s parent company—was deliberating an early withdrawal from its arrangement with the Australian Professional Leagues (APL).
The impetus for this alleged reconsideration was attributed to mounting dissatisfaction with the performance of the A-League competition.
Vandenberg’s post indicated a mutual discontent between the league and Paramount, though he surmised that it would more likely be the broadcaster, rather than the APL, to potentially sever the deal. He shared his insights through a tweet:
“The deal still has another two seasons remaining however both the league and Paramount are unsatisfied with the opposite party. I doubt you’ll see the APL pull the pin though, and if anyone was to break the deal – it would be the broadcaster.”
In a direct response to these rumours, a spokesperson for Channel 10 spoke to TV Blackbox, emphatically denying the speculations:
“Paramount Australia and the Australian Professional Leagues remain committed to unite, entertain and grow the football audience in Australia, and any speculation otherwise is false and misleading.”
The broadcasting arrangement, initiated in 2021, saw Network Ten and Paramount enter into a five-year deal, valued at $200 million in cash and contra, for exclusive rights to broadcast A-League games. This agreement also included Network Ten acquiring a minor ownership stake, approximately 2.5%, in the APL.
Initially, the broadcaster pledged to air one Saturday night match each week on its primary channel. However, these broadcasts were later shifted to 10Bold due to falling TV ratings. Additionally, the coverage of the sport on Paramount+ has faced criticism from fans, particularly regarding recurrent technical issues.
This contract is slated to conclude at the end of the 2025-26 season, though Network 10 retains a three-year extension option in their favour.
It has been noted that the APL has had to frequently compensate Network 10 with ‘penalties’ for failing to achieve a predetermined number of subscribers on Paramount+.
Furthermore, the APL assumed responsibility and costs for broadcast production. This decision led to a significant increase in production costs, reportedly reaching about $12 million annually, after opting to collaborate with a new, untested startup, Global Advance, instead of established industry leaders like NEP or Gravity.
The APL has also recently axed its in-house digital publishing arm KeepUp, resulting in significant job losses.
Additional Information: SMH
C10 & Paramount have not delivered FTA coverage of football expected by viewers.
Both the APL & KeepUp are 3rd class operators.
Football Australia is failing the growth of the sport by continuing to drag its feet on taking the A-League forward to a 16 club/team competition. Slow & tardiness with management & administration prevails.
As a Wanderers & former Sydney FC member, the focus on growing the game and its spectator base lack purpose and direction. This is coupled with a hostile media and unsupportive governments.
The solution remains for football & A-League (men & women) is to have more product on view with a September start / May finish of 16 teams, press for FA cup exposure and have some A-League games played midweek all featured on the FA’s own subscriber network.
Thought I’d let you know the FA does not control A-League. That is the job of APL these days which is majority clubs as the A-league split from FA.
Happy days.
The ALeague is the only reason I have Paramount Plus . The service is terrible . They cant even fill possible Ad breaks in between broadcast correctly
You just get this stupid paramount plus logo and music …. missed opportunities to earn coin …..cant blame the APL for that cluster funk
I’m just glad Foxsports doesn’t have a monopoly on the game anymore. There was a time where we couldn’t watch any A-league, national team matches including World Cup qualifiers and Asian Cup on Free-to-air as all that was stuck behind a paywall.