Australia’s newest streaming service has reportedly secured the rights to a major sporting league before it has even launched.
Football journalist Ray Gatt tweeted last night that Paramount+ and Channel 10 – both owned by ViacomCBS – had secured the rights to broadcast the A-League for the 2021-22 season.
Sorry for confusion. Channel 10 is correct. Paramount is the other part, streaming service NOT Macquarie.
— Ray Gatt (@Gatty54) May 25, 2021
An official announcement is expected to come in the next few days.
The deal may follow a similar structure to the current Super Rugby deal with Nine and Stan, where Nine broadcasts one match a week on free-to-air, while the rest of the fixtures are show live and exclusive on Stan.
Foxtel is the incumbent rights holder for the A-League.
Winning the A-League rights will come as a big win for Paramount+, as it competes with streaming services Stan Sport, Kayo, Optus Sport and Amazon Prime.
Paramount+ will officially launch in Australia in August and will cost Aussies $8.99 a month.
The new service will feature content from SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, the Smithsonian Channel and Sony Pictures Television, as well as a selection of local content.
ViacomCBS last year announced 10 All Access would be rebranding to Paramount+, with ViacomCBS executive vice president and chief content officer Beverley McGarvey saying: “the rebrand of 10 All Access to Paramount+ confirms its place in ViacomCBS’ global streaming network which will carry iconic ViacomCBS library content.”
