Given the time of year, you could be forgiven that 7Sport was nearly all about AFL.
This month in addition to AFL Finals there is AFLW, VFL and the Brownlow Medal.
Yet spend any time with new Seven director of network sport, Chris Jones, and he will quickly remind you that while AFL in front and centre now, the 7Sport offering is plentiful and varied.
“We love to think of ourselves as the home of sport,” Jones told Mediaweek. Speaking in Seven’s Melbourne HQ, still for the time being in its original Docklands home, the man who replaced Lewis Martin earlier this year, added: “We just have so much live sport. There is horse racing every weekend. From now on every weekend there is either live football or cricket for the next seven years.”
This month Jones oversees the broadcast of the Brownlow Medal and the AFL Grand Final – both to be also streamed live on Seven for the first time.
It’s then the start of a new AFL rights period for Seven where they will be streaming football, for free, every weekend.
See also: Seven West Media: New divisions and leadership roles in wake of redundancies
Some of Seven’s footy team: Abbey Holmes, Joel Selwood, Brian Taylor, Erin Phillips and Luke Hodge
Cost of the football
Seven is paying a lot more for its AFL FTA rights. So is the Foxtel Group. In the jockeying to grab their share of eyeballs, both broadcasters will be overhauling their coverage.
The AFL’s 2025-2031 deal is costing the broadcasters a combined $4.5b for seven years – $643 million a season. Quite a bit more than the $473 million per season under the terms of the expiring deal.
Seven has already secured the services of Nine’s Kane Cornes for 2025 and beyond. They are also in discussions for more talent for both their coverage and new weeknight footy shows expected on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Effectively giving Seven AFL on tap seven days a week. (Overlooking the fact they won’t have Saturday AFL for the start of season in 2025.)
Jones said the new shows will complement The Front Bar, “the best footy show on television”.
Before season 2025 of the AFL though, Seven has a much-anticipated summer of cricket for viewers. Again, with more streamed sport.
“My understanding is it’s the first time in the history of sport in Australia that the footy and the cricket has been able to be streamed for free,” said Jones.
Th former head of Seven’s cricket coverage added about the impending test tour by India: “I’ve been involved in the cricket over the last five years, and we’ve really been waiting for this to come along.
“It’s the heavyweight championship of the world with India and Australia. Five tests. They’ve beaten us the last couple of times of their year.”
Australia will be desperate to turn the tables. India has won all the last four series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy including two Australian tours with a 2-1 result.
Jones added: “We also have a Women’s Ashes Test in January.”
“Don’t forget our horse racing for 52 weeks of the year. Bruce McAvaney returns this weekend to headline the coverage through the spring.
The horse racing across the spring also includes the Cox Plate. “There’s also Supercars and LIV golf coming up too.”
Jones calls horse racing one of Seven’s most successful sports in terms of commercial return. “There are rusted-on horse racing lovers that turn up every Saturday.”
Seven’s sports leadership team
Sitting under Chris Jones and running sports broadcasting are head of cricket Joel Starcevic. Head of AFL and sport innovation is Gary O’Keefe. Head of horse racing is Andrew Hore-Lacy. Head of sport, digital is Kirsty Bradmore.
Jones noted Bradmore has a wide remit for 2025 and beyond given the explosion of content coming to 7plus. “There will be team hubs for all of our cricket teams and our AFL teams. We will make 7plus a one-stop shop for the sport lover.”
Kane Cornes
What’s happening to 7AFL in 2025?
“Our football coverage is fantastic, but there’s certainly opportunities for us to grab more share of audience,” said Jones.
“I would love to have more programming on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next year where we can tell AFL stories, and feature them prominently on 7plus and on Seven.”
What about new commentators and analysts? “When the weekend rolls around, yes, let’s bring in fresh talent. I don’t think we’re done yet from that point of view.”
In addition to Cornes, there’s been speculation Seven has also targeted Foxtel’s Gerard Whateley.
“There’s an ambition from our [AFL] team to set the agenda, perhaps a little more than what we have in the past.” Jones talked about “analysis shows for the football lovers where we can dive into what’s going on and why, the politics of football, the trade stories, and more.”
He added the 2024 team continues to do a great job. “Right up until Grand Final day they have all done a remarkable job. On that day we have four-time Premiership players and Premiership captains Luke Hodge and Joel Selwood.
“Dale Thomas has been an absolute sensation this year. He is going from strength to strength and is going to be a huge part of the team moving forward. We already of course have Matthew Richardson who’s probably the most loved, based on all of our sports broadcasts from an expert point of view.
“There’s already great depth, but we’d like to bring even more talent into the team to complement those that we’ve already got.”
See also: Inside Seven’s Kane Cornes deal: How much are they paying? New Seven shows planned
Strengthening Seven cricket
The Seven cricket team has new blood too. “Aaron Finch is going to be an unbelievable addition to the team,” said Jones. “Finchy for us is a proven commodity. We’ve had him commentate 15 to 20 Big Bash matches. He called a test match for us last year in Brisbane. We know exactly what we’re getting with him and he’s going to be unreal. In terms of some of the other innovations, I’m really excited about Rachel Kawaja joining the team.
“The wife of cricketer Usman will be a colour reporter at test matches. She gives us the ability to get closer to the friends and family of the team.
“Sometimes that third party advocacy is actually more engaging content than speaking to the players themselves.”
Some of Seven’s cricket team: Damien Fleming, Ricky Ponting, Mel McLaughlin and Trent Copeland
Juggling budget constraints
With Seven paying more than ever for sports rights, how does Chris Jones manage to also spend more on coverage of the games?
“When you invest as much as every media business in the world is investing in the sport rights at the moment, we’ve got a duty to create the best coverage that you possibly can.
“It’s about being innovative and efficient with your decision-making around the coverage. We will always prioritise commentators.
“If you can get your commentary to the highest possible level, then a lot of your coverage and content will flow off that.”
Jones said for the AFL Finals, Seven is adding cameras and technology. “We’ve got the tools at our disposal internally at Seven and we’ve got the support from the business. From Mr Stokes down to Jeff [Howard] to Angus [Ross] and Brook [Hall].
Jones reports to Hall, recently promoted to be Seven Network’s chief content officer.
“Brook and I have worked together for many, many years,” said Jones. “We first worked together on the tennis when we had the Australian Open. He has taught me as much within this building as anyone else. I’m absolutely thrilled. He is a sporting nut.
“He’s a Sydney Swans fan. He absolutely adores his cricket. But he also is giving us the space and the tools to go and do what we do best in the team.”
“I’d also mention Angus Ross and Jeff Howard on that front as well. Jeff’s been amazing for me. He’s an absolute cricket lover.”
Working alongside Foxtel Group
Helping manage costs across the major sports is cooperation with the Foxtel Group. Jones noted that means when Fox is host broadcaster on Test Cricket or Seven is host broadcaster on Women’s International Cricket and Big Bash Cricket.
“There are definitely efficiencies that we’ve been able to find and we’ll continue to look for those efficiencies, but not look for efficiencies in terms of reducing the spec for the coverage.”
Missing the Olympics
Chris Jones worked for Seven on many Summer and Winter Olympics Games. He admitted he missed being involved for Paris. “I wish we won as many gold medals when we were doing the Olympics as Channel Nine got,” he laughed. There was one more Gold medal from Paris than Australia had in Tokyo.
Jason Richardson, Lizzie Jelfs, Bruce McAvaney, Rebecca Freedman, Dan MacPherson, Kate Waterhouse and Hamish McLachlan at the Magic Millions race day
Chris Jones shares a house with Hutchy
Jones wanted to get into sports media early in his career. He told the story of how he ended up sharing a house with former 10 and Seven reporter turned media mogul Craig Hutchison.
“When I was 16 I realised I wasn’t going to be good enough to be an elite footballer or golfer or tennis player. I thought the next best thing was to try and watch it. I sent a lot of letters off and didn’t have any luck. Then I made a video of the Channel 10 news team when Quarters was there and Tim Cleary was the producer and Hutchie was breaking all the stories at the time.
“I got a phone call to go in and do work experience and then really just clung on for dear life ever since then.
“At 17 when I finished school, I moved into town as a cadet journalist. Hutchie called me the rookie and lived with him.
“It was in Cutter Street, Richmond. We must have been there for four or five years together.
“It was incredible in terms of educating me about the flow of information, how to network with people, how to meet people, what made a story. Hutchy remains the best journalist I certainly have ever seen.”
Jones added how he had a front row seat as Hutchison broke news stories and then transitioned into the business world.
“He remains a wonderful friend and I’m forever indebted to him and Tim Cleary for giving me my start.”
Coaching the team
“Bringing the [Seven] team together has been something that we’ve done immediately from me starting this role and having really open conversations. We had Ricky Ponting come in and speak to the team the other day about leadership and teamwork and what that means to him. It was unreal for everyone from myself to other producers, the editors, the tech managers to sit there and listen to Ricky talk about his experiences in teamwork and leadership.
“I certainly took a lot out of it. I know the rest of the team did as well.”