Football Federation Australia "aims to more than double" its A$40M ($37M) a year TV revenues when the next broadcast deal is struck, "lifting rights fees" perhaps as high as A$100M a year, according to Michael Lynch of THE AGE. FFA CEO David Gallop, who celebrates a year in the position on Tuesday, "believes that the popularity of the code, its growing television audiences, sponsorship and marketing appeal make a target of that size feasible." However, he "does not see further expansion of the 10-team A-League in the medium term, nor does he believe that the introduction of promotion and relegation is something that will occur any time soon." Broadcast rights "will remain the game's biggest cash cow," and Gallop said that the focus "had to be on extracting maximum value for the product based largely on the appeal of the Socceroos and the domestic competition." Gallop: "The A-League is the financial backbone of the business in terms of the new television deal, and the goal is of making sure that the next TV deal is a substantial increase in rights fees from the current one. It's difficult to pin down what the value will be, but we need to be aiming high, and I think it's realistic to aim for a very hefty increase. It's $40 million a year at the moment ... a doubling would be the least we would expect." Gallop knows that traditional broadcast media "remain the best revenue option." Gallop: "Digital growth has obviously been an important part of the sport's progress. But ultimately both pay television and free-to-air is the goose that lays the golden egg for sport still, and football needs to be focused on that" (THE AGE, 11/12).
