Packer fires big shot for AFL rights

Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting has offered A$780 million ($848 million) to show Australian Football League matches on its Nine Network, the nation's highest-rating television channel.

Seven Network and its partner, Ten Network, have 14 days to match the offer.

AFL chairman Ron Evans said yesterday that the bid was 50 per cent above the amount accepted by the AFL in the previous five-year broadcast deal.

The bid comes amid a A$1.1 billion court battle that Seven started against 21 parties, including Sydney-based Publishing & Broadcasting, after losing the rights in 2000.

The AFL grand final is the highest-rating sports event in the country. It's watched by 3.4 million viewers, or almost one in five Australians.

Yesterday's preliminary agreement includes the right to show all eight AFL games a week, allowing Nine to sell as many as four matches to another commercial or pay-TV broadcaster, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said.

News Corp's Australian unit, News Ltd, won the last bid for the free-to-air and pay-TV rights from the AFL in December 2000, selling the free-to-air rights on to the Nine Network and Ten Network and the pay-TV rights to Foxtel.

Seven had held the rights to broadcast the AFL before that for more than 40 years. Losing the rights started a three-year slide in ratings for Seven in 2001, and forced it to close its sports pay-television channel, C7, the following year.

"We look forward to making a final submission to the AFL," said Simon Francis, a spokesman for Seven.

Margaret Fearn, a spokeswoman for Ten, declined to comment.

Shares in Publishing & Broadcasting closed 1.3 per cent higher at A$16.61. Seven shares rose 1.8 per cent to A$8.37, and Ten added 1c to A$3.12.

- BLOOMBERG