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Lowy calls for free-to-air deal

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21 October 2009 | 17:30 - AAP

Call for new deal ... FFA chairman Frank Lowy (Getty)

Australian football chief Frank Lowy says the game's next broadcast deal needs to include free-to-air television to get the sport "to the people".


Pay TV provider Foxtel is in the fifth year of a seven-year deal worth $120 million covering all Socceroos matches except the World Cup, as well as the A-League and Asian Champions League.

But FFA chairman Lowy said in the next deal, they would aim to reach a bigger audience while reaping more money.

"There's no doubt that the game needs to be shown on free-to-air from time to time, or certain parts of the competition on free-to-air," Lowy said at a Melbourne Victory business lunch on Wednesday.

"Because that's where the people are and we need to go to the people.

"I think we have grown up by now, that both the commercial free-to-air and the pay TV (operators) will realise that we are a growing sport, a very popular sport, and we are going places, so we will not be penalised financially.

"I think in the next two or three years that will bear out and we hope that we are able to negotiate a good contract with both free-to-air and with pay TV to get more than what we have now and a lot more later on."

Lowy also said along with an aim to eventually expand to a 14-team A-League, there were plans to introduce a second division in the "not too distant future".

"(It) will allow for promotion and relegation, which is the lifeblood of national football competitions around the world," he said.

He said there had been suggestions the league was growing too quickly and acknowledged that some A-League clubs remained financially "fragile".

But Lowy said the FFA were working hard to make sure all teams became profitable within the next few years and the league needed to expand to be taken seriously around the world.

The FFA boss also indicated future A-League seasons would start later in the year.

With the current season starting in August, the early rounds struggled to compete for publicity against the business end of the AFL and NRL.

"I think you need a certain amount of trial and error and I think we now recognise that we need to start the league somewhat later than what we have done before," Lowy said.

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