There will be no A-League Women (ALW) games on free-to-air television for the first time since its inception, after renegotiations of broadcast arrangement for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announced on Wednesday that both top-flight competitions will undergo a broadcast revamp this year following poor viewership numbers during its previous COVID-ravaged season.
It said market research shows a greater proportion of fans are flocking to streaming services.
As part of the new arrangement, two A-League Men (ALM) fixtures will be shown on broadcast partner Ten's free-to-air subsidiary station, 10 Bold, on Saturday nights at 7:45pm and Sunday afternoons at 3pm — up from one on the main channel last season.
Games will also be ad-break free during live play following criticism of last season's arrangement that saw ad breaks take place after goals and during drinks breaks, with at-home fans sometimes missing subsequent goals due to the interruption.
All remaining ALM games will be shown on the APL's subscription streaming service, Paramount+, which also came under fire last season for various technical issues including a lack of pause and rewind functions and slow replay uploads.
The expanded ALW, which previously had one game per week on 10 Bold and has had at least one game accessible on free-to-air television since the league's inception in 2008, will be moved entirely to Ten's free streaming service, 10 Play.
It's the first time in the history of the women's league that games have not been available on terrestrial television.
The APL says moving all ALW games to 10Play, which they suggest has a 66 per cent female user base and reaches over 2.9 million Australians every month, will offer "increased access to support the growth of the women's game in the lead up to the 2023 Women's World Cup" after low engagement with games on Paramount+ last season.
6.5 million people accessed the A-Leagues through its two primary streaming services last season, while traditional television figures plummeted after over half of all fixtures were rescheduled due to the pandemic.
The ABC understands the new ALW fixtures, which the APL will release next week, will include simultaneous 3pm kick-offs on Saturdays, which could potentially eat into viewership figures with fans only able to watch or attend a single game at any one time.
The ALW will receive additional marketing, bespoke digital content, and further terrestrial cross-promotion with other Network Ten shows such as Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Project, and Studio 10.
This broadcast arrangement has changed since the $200 million, five-year deal was announced in 2021, which originally had a hybrid model of games on free-to-air television and streaming platforms.
Most other women's leagues in comparative nations have hybrid broadcast models, such as England's Women's Super League, which has seen a "near fourfold" increase in viewership figures following a broadcast deal arranged between Sky Sports and the UK's free-to-air broadcaster, the BBC, in 2021.
In Australia, the Women's National Basketball League has recently announced a similar hybrid partnership with ESPN and Channel 9, while the AFL this week confirmed a $4.5 billion broadcast deal with Foxtel and Channel 7.
"This season's broadcast schedule is designed to deliver more football to more Australian homes with 26 additional men's games on 10 Bold and almost 100 women's games on 10 Play," APL chief executive Danny Townsend said.
"Football fans will know exactly where and when they will be able to watch A-Leagues football, week in and week out.
"Making every single ALW game available live and free on 10 Play means that every girl in Australia can turn o their device and have sporting role models at their fingertips. With nine months to go until the 2023 Women's World Cup, we are maximising the opportunity to access the game at every level."
The ALM kicks off on October 7 with a grand final rematch between Western United and Melbourne City, before a month-long break for the men's World Cup in Qatar from November 13, while the ALW will begin on November 18.
