Australian league pushes for €81m a year media deal

THERE’S a story that may interest the GAA hierarchy and send a shiver down the spines of RTÉ executives.

Down in Australia the battle for the next AFL media rights package is being waged with the league pushing for an unprecedented Aus$130 million (€81m) a year for five years from 2006.

AFL chiefs last week wrote to Channels Seven and Ten and exercised its opening bid for the free-to-air rights, to which both networks have 14 days to respond.