Australian hockey granted wider exposure with Fox Sports deal

Australian pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has agreed a five-year extension to its rights partnership with the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The deal announced today (Wednesday) will run through to December 2022 and gives Australian fans live and exclusive coverage of the new Pro League, as well as World Cup, Champions Trophy and Olympic qualification events.

Fox Sports will broadcast all 16 matches hosted by Australia’s men’s and women’s teams as part of the Pro League, which begins early 2019. In addition, they will also provide full visibility across multiple platforms for all 144 Pro League matches taking place between January and June each year across the world, as well as the end of season Grand Final.

Before then, Australian fans will be able to tune in to live coverage of the men’s team’s title defence of both the Champions Trophy in Breda, the Netherlands between June 23 and July 1 and the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India, taking place from November 28 to December 16.

All matches from the Women’s World Cup in London, England between July 21 and August 5, as well as November’s Champions Trophy in Changzhou, China will also be shown by the Australian broadcaster.

Fox Sports chief operating officer, Peter Campbell, said: “Our Australian hockey teams have achieved enormous success on the global stage but have had little visibility outside the Olympics. This new partnership will change that, providing significantly more coverage, both internationally and domestically, which will help grow the sport and showcase these incredible athletes.”