For generations, the humble Australian pub has been more than just a place to grab a cold one—it’s been the beating heart of the community, a place where mates gather to watch the footy, celebrate wins, commiserate losses, and share a laugh over a schnitty and a schooner.
But a new, eye-watering fee to broadcast live sport could be putting all that at risk, and many are calling it downright ‘un-Australian’.
If you’ve popped into your local recently hoping to catch the AFL or NRL on the big screen, you might have noticed something missing: the game itself. That’s because many pubs are being slugged with fees as high as $4,000 just to show live sport on a Saturday—a cost that’s simply out of reach for many smaller venues.
Comedian Fergus Neal recently found this out the hard way when he tried to watch a live AFL match at a Fitzroy pub, only to be told the venue couldn’t afford the $4,000 Foxtel fee. ‘It’s the end of an era, where the pub was a meeting place to go watch key events like this,’ said Benny Johnson, publican of Sydney’s Lord Gladstone, who ditched his own $2,500-a-month sports subscription after it became unsustainable.
The fees pubs pay to broadcast sport aren’t new, but they’ve ballooned in recent years as more sports move behind paywalls and streaming services. The cost is calculated based on a venue’s size, turnover, number of gaming machines, and licence type. While big hospitality groups can absorb these costs, smaller, independent pubs are struggling to keep up.
And it’s not just Foxtel. With the rise of streaming services like Kayo and Stan Sport, the landscape has become even more complicated. While you can stream Kayo at home for less than $1 a day, pubs aren’t allowed to use residential subscriptions, and those that try risk fines of up to $860,000. Some venues have even received cease and desist letters for trying to skirt the rules.
For many, this isn’t just about money—it’s about preserving a way of life. Watching the footy at the pub is as Australian as a meat pie at the MCG. ‘Footy should be free for every Australian,’ Neal said. ‘Hiding sport behind black screens in the name of corporate profits is akin to draping a curtain over Bondi Beach and making Australians pay to swim.’
Punters agree. ‘At $8 a schooner, you’d need to sell 500 to recoup your money… Release the footy,’ one frustrated fan wrote online. Another called it ‘straight up un-Australian’ not to have the footy on at the pub.
This issue comes at a time when pubs are already under pressure from rising costs, staff shortages, and changing drinking habits. With the cost of living biting hard, many Australians are choosing to stay home and stream the game instead of heading out. For pubs, every extra cost, like a $4,000 sports fee, can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
If smaller venues are forced to stop showing sport, it could funnel more business to the big chains, further eroding the unique character of our local pubs. ‘It would funnel all the money, all the power, and all the attention to a select few of the bigger groups who are going to be able to keep it on because it doesn’t hurt their bottom line at all,’ Johnson warned.
Some publicans say they’d be happy to pay a fair price for sports broadcasting—if only the providers would come to the table. ‘I, as well as many other independent pub owners, are always open to discussions, it’s just we constantly get overlooked in favour of brokering deals with the bigger groups,’ Johnson said.
There’s also hope that changes could be on the horizon. Kayo and Foxtel are set to be taken over by UK streaming giant DAZN later this year, after a $3.4 billion deal. Whether that will mean cheaper deals for pubs or everyday Australians remains to be seen.
Have you noticed your local pub turning off the footy? Would you be less likely to visit if you couldn’t watch the game with your mates? Do you think sport should be free-to-air in pubs? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Also read: Cheers or tears: Will the beer tax destroy Australian pubs?
All major sports should be available on Free To Air, All Codes of Football, International Cricket Played in Australia, all forms.
This would make AFL, Soccer, Rugby (Both codes) and Cricket available to be viewed on FTA !!
Yes, I agree all sport should be on Free to Air TV in Australia. It is the BIG streaming mobs that are controlling it all. Even some normal TV shows are now on Streaming Services.
That’s the consequence of the era of professionalism – everything costs more money, in order to pay the players