The Wellington Phoenix has confirmed that the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have named Sky New Zealand as the official broadcaster for the A-League Men’s and Women’s competitions in a multi-year deal.
The announcement comes as the Phoenix prepares for their first Isuzu Utes A-League match of the new season, when they take on Macarthur FC next Sunday 21 November, as the deal ensures that Kiwis will continue to have ‘high-level access’ to all Phoenix matches, including a number of live free-to-air games.
Wellington Phoenix General Manager, David Dome, stated that Sky has been an ‘important partner’ for the club over the past few seasons, and he is pleased to see it play a ‘key role in what will be a historical season’ for the Phoenix.
“This season will be history-making for the Club as we field both a men’s and women’s squad for the first time ever, but thanks to Covid we are forced to start both of these campaigns in New South Wales until early next year,” he noted.
“So having Sky as our NZ broadcaster means our fans in New Zealand can watch all of our matches and support us from afar. It’s great news for Kiwis who love football and who have been supporting our move into the women’s professional space too.”
Furthermore, fans of the club will also be able to watch the Phoenix’s women’s team play their inaugural match in the A-League Women’s competition, when they face Western Sydney Wanderers on 3 December at WIN Stadium – in a ‘must-watch double-header with the Men’s team’.
Dome added: “We’re thrilled that Sky are investing heavily into football under this new agreement; not only the ability of every New Zealander to watch on free to air, but also with some new initiatives we hope to be able to announce soon.
“It’s a new era for both the Phoenix and for the re-branded A-Leagues, so we welcome a continuation of our relationship with Sky and look forward to starting this new season with our fans glued to their TV screen, smartphone, laptop or tablet from opening night.”
Sky will show live coverage of all matches from the men’s and women’s A-Leagues, including both competitions’ finals series.
Most coverage will be on Sky’s pay-television and subscription streaming platforms, whilst selected matches will be on Sky’s linear free-to-air channel Prime.
Adam Crothers, Sky’s Head of Sport Partnerships, commented: “We’re long-time fans of the Wellington Phoenix and we can’t wait to see the Wellington Phoenix women’s team compete in this exciting new A-Leagues format. We know our customers will be rapt to see them both take the field in the coming weeks and will be watching avidly wherever they are, in whatever way suits them best.”
In recent seasons, Sky has shown A-Leagues coverage on its Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports pay-television channel, which is jointly operated with pan-regional sports broadcaster beIN Sports Asia-Pacific. This channel carries a mixture of content acquired by both Sky and beIN.
