- Multi-territory coverage of “Aussie Rules” football
- Live game coverage, plus weekly highlights on television
- Live matches from the Regular season, Finals Series and Grand Final on ESPN in the UK, Ireland, Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Canada and Israel
ESPN has announced a new deal with the Australian Football League (AFL) to bring viewers exclusive live television coverage of the AFL Premiership in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Canada, and sub-saharan Africa. Additionally, it has secured co-exclusive live television rights in the Caribbean and Israel.
The deal will run for the next three seasons, including the current season. ESPN will bring viewers in these territories extensive coverage of the league, which attracts the highest in-stadia attendances of all sports leagues in Australia and has the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the world.
At least one live match per week will be aired on ESPN channels throughout the season across all these territories. The 23-round regular season is played between March and August, followed by the Finals Series, where the top teams play off for the right to make the Grand Final. The live TV telecast of the Grand Final itself will also be exclusively on ESPN channels. In addition, fans will be able to keep up to date with all the action during each round with a dedicated weekly TV highlights show.
The 2012 AFL season follows on from a 2011 season that saw Geelong lift the Premiership Cup after a 38-point victory over Collingwood at the MCG in Melbourne. The league welcomes a new team this year, Greater Western Sydney.
