IMG, the sports marketing agency, will remain the exclusive media, official data, and streaming rights partner of the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), the commercial and marketing body for soccer in the country, after striking a renewed deal today (September 18).
The renewal, agreed after a competitive process, will see IMG continue to manage and distribute the international media rights to the top-tier men’s and women’s A-League, excluding Australia and New Zealand, while its sports data and technology arm IMG Arena will capture and distribute official data form every match to over 460 global sportsbook operators.
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As part of the deal, IMG Arena will also distribute live-streaming betting rights internationally, excluding Australia, and provide the two leagues with full integrity monitoring and analysis services as the APL’s official integrity partner.
A-Leagues commissioner Nick Garcia said: “This extension and expansion of this partnership is a testament to the growth opportunity that exists in Australian and New Zealand football right now, and we look forward to continuing to work with IMG to utilize its invaluable expertise and expansive global network.
“The A-Leagues is home to national team stars, international talent, and the Matildas and Socceroos of the future. With three new women’s teams in the A-League Women, and two men’s teams to come to the A-League Men, we have more football, more goals, and more stories for fans to connect with.”
The renewal builds on IMG’s original agreement, which started in 2017. Since then, IMG has secured broadcast coverage for the A-League in more than 65 markets globally, achieving more than five times growth in the number of average live stream views per match.
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By GlobalDataDale Levin, senior vice president head of Australasia and Southeast Asia for IMG’s media business, said: “We are proud to have developed a strong relationship with APL and helped it achieve significant growth for the A-Leagues over the past six years.
“These are the Asia-Pacific region’s premium football leagues, promising unmissable men’s and women’s action for fans and broadcasters, as well as a popular time zone for sportsbooks globally.
“We are excited to continue this journey with APL and are committed to taking A-League to an even wider global audience, deepening fan engagement, and protecting the integrity of their events, whilst further increasing the value of the leagues.”
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, UK, IMG Arena claims to deliver live streaming and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually. Its clients include men’s tennis’ ATP, mixed martial arts’ UFC, golf’s DP World Tour and PGA Tour, Euroleague Basketball, tennis’ Roland Garros and USTA, and the English Football Association.
In May, the betting division expanded its partnership with North America’s Major League Soccer to provide tracking data to the competition’s MLS Next Pro affiliate league.
Alongside its role as the league’s official data partner, the company delivers content solutions, next-generation fan analytics, and marketing tools to MLS’ betting and media partners, including the launch of three new MLS live data feeds.
