A-League fans were shocked this month to see the release of not one, but seven A-League related shows. Fans have long derided the lack of media content made for the competition, but these recent developments are noticeably shifting the community’s attitude. Naturally a lot of fans have been asking why all this content is being produced now, and based on our assessment we think we’ve identified a few clear reasons.
| APL | A-League Highlights Show | Online | 22 minutes |
| APL | The A-Leagues Download | Online | 44 minutes |
| APL | Total A-Leagues | Online | 29 minutes |
| APL | A-Leagues Warm Up | Online | 5 minutes |
| APL | The Tactician | Online | 5 minutes |
| 10 | The Weekly Kick-Off | Television | 44 minutes |
| 10 | Football Tonight | Television | 22 minutes |
Well… we’ve actually already seen this before!
In the early days of independent ownership, the APL was flush with cash and actually went pretty big into content generation. As part of its maligned KeepUp strategy the APL made content investments into the flashy A-League All-Access series, a Weekly A-League Podcast and Dub Zone, as well as World Cup Content, global licencing arrangements and original articles on foreign leagues. Instead of introducing people to the A-League by luring them with other football content, the KeepUp strategy had the opposite effect and essentially hid A-League content behind the unknown KeepUp brand. There was A-League content being produced at this time, but fans couldn’t find it!
…and then, the content went away
Ultimately this KeepUp arrangement wasn’t sustainable. The growth forecast by the APL never eventuated and the business started to fall apart. As well as the large costs of maintaining the KeepUp platform the APL was forced to sink money into keeping the League afloat during COVID and providing financial support directly to clubs including Perth Glory. Media content found itself at the bottom of the APL priority list and non-essential spending was cut. A-League All Access was reduced to a short form, the weekly podcast disappeared, and Dub Zone was retooled. In aggregate, this left fans with minimal content last season. So it’s not that we haven’t had A-League content in the past, but last year more than any other was a baren content period as part of a wider industry correction.
Reduced financial burdens have freed up cash
As part of this massive correction the APL took what is known in the financial world… as a bath. It washed away all the expensive bells and whistles and massively reduced its expenses. In the past year we saw the APL halve its workforce (about 40 staff helping save potentially $4 million a year) and it reduced its distribution to A-League clubs from 2 million dollars to about 500 thousand (helping save potentially $20 million a year). The APL also secured new ownership arrangements at Perth Glory which further improved the budget situation. All this together means the APL is looking at a budget improvement of potentially $30 million per year! With a significantly reduced financial burden, the APL has now clearly pushed media production higher up its priority list.
Media spending is now more focused
It is not just that Media production is higher up the priority list though, the content being produced is now more aligned with APL strategy. For the first time, the APL’s main focus is platforming the A-League for what it is and not chasing growth in new markets or in new industries. We saw the green shoots of this strategy last year as the A-League brand became more prominent on online platforms and basic A-League content was reliably being produced, namely highlights, historical video compilations and regular article series including round previews and squad updates ahead of rounds. This year we are sing the APL build on these strong basic foundations with a slate of low-cost shows aligned with platforming the A-League.
The strategy is also a lot clearer
These low-cost shows aren’t simply being produced because they are cheap, they reflect a clear strategy that also addresses feedback from fans:
- These shows represents multiple formats.
This allows the APL to see what ultimately works and provides content variety for fans. Long form shows offer a simple and casual review of the round (The A-Leagues Download) a sharper talking points discussion show (Total A-Leagues), and a straight forward highlights show. Shorter formats offer technical reviews (The Tactician) and a bit of fun (A-Leagues Warm Up).
- These shows are also being released on different days.
This is helping helps fans create weekly routines, as is the standard for other leagues including the AFL and NRL. In this case fans can enjoy round reviews earlier in the week, discussion during the week, and round previews at the end of the week.
- The shows are creating personalities
Past KeepUp content felt stale, anonymous and lacked emotional hooks for fans to connect. This current suite of content is already creating conversation for presenter personalities including Archie Thompson and Vince Rugari. The video nature of content is also far more impactful than the old A-League podcast
- The content is allowing for cross-pollination of media
I’ve already seen articles written about the talking points discussed on this content. The diversity of the content is creating a richer football media ecosystem and keeping topics (like Perth’s shambolic defending) in the news for multiple days. This wasn’t the case in the past few seasons.
In short, the APL and A-League fans have weathered a bit of a storm both financially and strategically. This new content from the APL signals a rebasing of its media and business strategy which is finally impactful in the ways fans, and sponsors, want to see.
Where does Network 10 fit into this?
Tragically for the A-League, the instability described above wasn’t just contained to the APL, but also to Network 10. The broadcasting arrangements entered into at the start of the Paramount deal in short were a lose-lose for all parties. Without going into detail the last few years have been a challenging broadcast experience… so here’s a quick summary.
| Where we were | What happened | Where we are now |
| Network 10 overestimated the A-League ratings ability and broadcast games on the main channel | The Network was losing money and cutting corners where it could on the broadcasting arrangements | A-League games are now being shown on the secondary channel in a consistent Saturday timeslot and are generating great ratings for this level. |
| Paramount Plus entered into the Australian market with the A-League as their main drawcard | The streamer was plagued by limited market share and technological issues. | Paramount now delivers a far better technological experience as well as has a larger market share, which has helped increase A-League ratings. |
| Global Advance were signed on for broadcast services. A new company with the A-League as its only client. | Global Advance delivered a bare minimum product and went bankrupt. | Jam TV and EMG / Gravity Media have been contracted as the new producers. The experienced companies offer industry insights and their new deal includes producing the new suite of APL shows as well. |
As you can see the A-League broadcast arrangements are in a far better place than they were a few years ago. This has created a far more investible product which also benefits from a more experienced set of counterparties who are able to refine the broadcast offering. This collective feedback is what has resulted in Network 10’s refined investment. After having signed on again as the Football Australia broadcast partner as well, the Network has essentially replaced Round Ball Rules with the new and more engaging show The Weekly Kick-Off. After retooling the broadcast schedule to mimic their experience with the NBL (a double header broadcast), Network 10 have been able to deliver a consolidated Saturday afternoon double header which offers economies of scale to deliver a second new show, Football Tonight in between the two matches.
What’s next?
Plenty by the sounds of thigs. The APL has indicated it will improve its TikTok Offering, the A-League Women’s is set to kick off, hopefully with a similarly refreshed content slate too. But overall for the A-League Men content, we have all been pleasantly surprised this week but this has not come out of nowhere.
After an initial brash attempt at content creation economic challenges forced the A-League and Network 10 to rebase the product and their businesses. After building a solid foundation last year a stronger and more knowledgeable stakeholders group has been ultimately able to develop the new and growing content offering we see today! There is a lot more to say, but for now, we are ecstatic with these positive developments.
The Beautiful Game 