Australian pay television service Foxtel has extended a long-standing agreement with American sports broadcaster ESPN to continue offering live athletic events through its satellite and streaming platforms for a few more years.
The deal includes the distribution of ESPN-produced sports programming on Kayo Sports, including live athletic competitions from the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) taking place in North America and other locations. The platform also shares domestic rights to the National Basketball League (NBL) with Paramount Global.
Foxtel said it is uniquely positioned to super-serve Australian sports fans as the distributor of ESPN, which offers a slew of international sporting events, and Fox Sports Australia, which carries domestic athletic competitions from Formula 1, the Australian national cricket team and Australian Football League, among others. Fox Sports Australia is owned by Foxtel, which itself is part of DAZN.
As part of the deal, Foxtel and DAZN will also serve as the exclusive distributors of ESPN to business customers, making live sports from the network available to bars, restaurants, hotels and other public venues throughout Australia.
“We have enjoyed a wonderful, world-leading relationship with ESPN that spans more than two decades, a remarkable achievement in the dynamic world of media,” Patrick Delany, the CEO of Foxtel Group, said in a statement. “This renewal combines ESPN’s premium coverage of the best US sports with our unrivalled portfolio, including the AFL, NRL and cricket, cementing Kayo Sports and Foxtel as the ultimate destination for Australian sports fans.”
Delany said the new multi-year deal with ESPN and its parent, the Walt Disney Company, helps solidify Foxtel’s “commitment to offering sports fans Australia’s most diverse, dynamic, and comprehensive sports experience.”
In addition to regular-season games from the aforementioned leagues, ESPN in Australia is also the domestic broadcaster for championship tournaments and games like the NFL’s Super Bowl, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and MLB World Series. ESPN also simulcasts stateside shoulder programming like First Take and the Pat McAfee Show into Australia.
“Our relationship with Foxtel is one we value immensely at ESPN, and we are thrilled that Foxtel and Kayo Sports will remain a part of the ESPN ecosystem in Australia,” Kyle Watson-Wheeler, the head executive in charge of ESPN’s Asia-Pacific business, said in a statement. “ESPN now reaches millions of Australians and demand is growing for our premium offering as the ‘Home for Hoops’ and the best of U.S. sport, plus locally led coverage and studio shows. We’re thrilled to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere in this market.”
ESPN and Foxtel said the renewed agreement will continue to allow Australians to watch and stream ESPN’s UFC Fight Night coverage with their subscription, though rights may change hands at some point in the near future.
Earlier this week, Paramount Global announced a new multi-year deal with UFC to become the exclusive U.S. distributor of all events, which will be offered through the streaming service Paramount Plus. Executives at Paramount said they intend to pursue international rights to UFC as they become available; in Australia, Paramount operates a version of Paramount Plus and free streamer Pluto TV in addition to free-to-air broadcaster Network 10.
