World Footy News

The Australian Football League (AFL) today confirmed that it has selected Rightster, the online video distribution and marketing specialist, to launch live AFLTV; an innovative subscription service providing access to live and on demand AFL games to fans outside of Australia and New Zealand. This is set to be the only international service that offers access to every single AFL match live and on–demand in the coming season.

AFL is the highest-level professional competition in the sport of Australian Rules football and serves as the sport’s governing body, overseeing all aspects of the game. As the most popular sporting league in Australia, the AFL consists of 18 teams spread over five states in Australia. In a drive to distribute its online content to a wider audience and build interest in Australian Rules Football outside Australia and New Zealand, AFL called on Rightster for its expertise in maximising the reach and revenue potential of online video, as well as its remarkable track record in building larger audiences for the online video content of major content owners in the sporting industry.

Rightster, the online video distribution and marketing specialist, to launch live AFLTV; an innovative subscription service providing access to live and on demand AFL games to fans outside of Australia and New Zealand. This is set to be the only international service that offers access to every single AFL match live and on–demand in the coming season. 

Rightster will provide a full service web TV solution through which the AFL will have complete transparency and control over the distribution of its online video content. Rightster will also be responsible for the design and implementation of the access and delivery infrastructure of the service and will manage user subscriptions which will include the Season Pass, Weekly Pass, Monthly Recurring Pass, Club specific pass and Finals packages. Rightster and the AFL will work together to drive further fan engagement through social tools integrated with the AFLTV service.

Once the service has launched, AFL fans will be able to watch Australian football across a range of devices including PCs and Macs, iOS and HTML5 compatible smart phones and tablets, and will have access to the full service for free for the duration of the NAB Cup.

AFL Deputy CEO, Gillon McLachlan, commented: “We’re excited to announce the launch of AFLTV with Rightster and look forward to taking Australia football to a global audience. We selected Rightster on the strength of its experience in providing digital distribution solutions for major sports rights owners across the world.”

Charlie Muirhead, Founder and CEO at Rightster added: “As consumers increasingly seek high-quality video content online, the AFL is spearheading the industry in developing a dedicated solution for its global fan base. Rightster is proud to be facilitating the launch of AFLTV and greatly looks forward to working with the largest sporting league in Australia. We’re confident that our solution will continue to address the digital needs of content owners and their audiences worldwide.”

In regards to our questions about NZ coverage for 2013 the AFL responded with the following: "the AFL is currently in discussions around broadcasts in New Zealand. We would expect to be able to provide an update by the end of the month, before the season is underway."