Football Federation Australia and Fox Sports have "moved a step closer to finalising the long-awaited TV rights deal" for Australian football after another round of "intense negotiations" Tuesday morning, according to Ray Gatt of THE AUSTRALIAN. FFA and Fox Sports met in Sydney, and an announcement could come as early as next week as the league continues to "nervously hold its breath for the final outcome of what is widely regarded as the most crucial deal in Australian soccer history." In a statement, an FFA spokesperson said: "Talks are continuing with subscription and free-to-air broadcasters about the rights to international and domestic football. The talks are at an advanced stage, and FFA anticipates a positive outcome for the game." It is no secret the game's head body is "holding out for a A$200M ($208M) financial windfall" over five years for the pay-TV and free-to-air rights -- a considerable rise on the A$125M, seven-year deal with Fox that ends next year. Also at issue for FFA is the free-to-air component of its new deal. One-time front-runner Channel Ten has not been back to the negotiation table for "quite some time" and the former home of Australian football SBS was "now in the box seat" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/29).
