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he AFL, along with its broadcast partners, Foxtel, and Telstra, have announced they have extended their partnership by two years through to the 2024 season.

The extended broadcast deal, alongside the Seven Network and AFL broadcast extension for the same time period that was announced earlier in 2020, will see the AFL receive $946 million in total over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

As part of the deal, Telstra and the AFL have also announced a partnership set to boost Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, with the venue to become one of the world’s most technologically connected and innovative sports and entertainment venues, acting as a testing bed for Telstra 5G technology.

AFL CEO, Gillon McLachlan, said the deal is a signal of strength of the future of the league in the post-COVID-19 world.

“After a challenging year, this is a great way to finish off 2020 and is a massive vote of confidence in the AFL, our players, and our code at all levels,” McLachlan said.

“It provides greater financial certainty in the years ahead, ensures our fans continue to have the ability to watch men’s and women’s footy wherever they are.

“We have made a commitment to make Marvel Stadium one of the best sports and entertainment destinations in the world and our partnership with Telstra only enhances our ability to deliver this by providing fans a digitally-connected and technologically innovative fan-friendly experience.

“This extension with Foxtel and Telstra, along with the extension we signed with the Seven Network earlier this year, ensures that we are able to not only re-build our game but take it to more and more people.

“Every business, every sport, every community has felt the fallout of this global COVID-19 pandemic and our partnerships announced today help provide us with the security and confidence to continue to diligently and strategically re-build the football community.

“I want to thank Foxtel and Telstra for their support of our game and for backing us, just like the Seven Network did who extended earlier this year.

“I thank them all for their support and for backing us in for an extension in what has been a challenging year.

“We have the best game in the world, and we continue to attract and retain the best partners in world sports.

“Fox, Telstra and Channel Seven’s long-term partnerships exposes our game to the biggest audience in the country and brings footy fans the very best content – on demand – wherever and whenever they need via television, streaming and digital,” he said.

As part of the extended deals, Foxtel will show all Toyota AFL Premiership season and NAB AFLW season games live, holding replay and highlight rights across subscription television and digital platforms including Kayo, Foxtel Go, and Foxtel Now.

Telstra has also increased their investment in sponsorship assets, becoming Marvel Stadium’s official technology and innovation partner for the next four years, deploying technology such as 5G network upgrades, artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and edge computing, while holding on to highlight, replay, and on-demand rights.

Telstra CEO, Andy Penn, said: “Since 2002, we have been proud of our partnership with the AFL which has always been about using technology to help Aussies watch and enjoy the game at home or on the go.”

“We have been deeply committed to keeping up our support for the AFL and it’s pleasing to see Foxtel, our long-standing strategic partner, support the AFL and extend their rights deal for another two years.

“We will continue to work with the AFL, Foxtel and our other partners on how we continue to bring exclusive streaming rights and experiences to Telstra customers, and we have some exciting plans in this regard that we will announce in the new year.

“Telstra is delighted to be able to deepen our support of the AFL through extending our sponsorships, leveraging our industry leadership in 5G and other exciting technologies such as mixed reality, as well as becoming Marvel Stadium’s official technology and innovation partner to enhance the experience for fans.

“We’re really excited about the potential future stadium experiences that can be delivered for fans through Telstra 5G and other technologies,” he said.