Fox Sports signs broadcast deal for new ‘Big Bash’ style domestic competition HOCKEY ONE

Fox Sports has signed a broadcast deal with Australia’s newest sporting competition Hockey One, but in a somewhat surprising move, Foxtel premium subscribers will miss out with the pay-tv broadcaster deciding to make much of the coverage exclusive to its new streaming business Kayo.

Hockey One is the new domestic league for the sport in Australia replacing the Australian Hockey League (AHL).

The new competition which aims to be Hockey’s answer to the Big Bash, will provide an eight-week home-and-away series running from late September to mid-November. The male and female leagues will run concurrently.

There will six home-and-away rounds, with each club playing three home matches, before semi-finals and Grand Finals in mid-November. Every match-day will always include male and female double-headers.

The new broadcast deal will see select home-and-away matches live streamed on Kayo Sports, while Fox Sports will televise all finals matches of the new league. Specific TX details are yet to be confirmed.

Hockey One will feature seven new clubs; Adelaide Fire, Brisbane Blaze, Canberra Chill, HC Melbourne, NSW Pride, Perth Thundersticks and Tassie Tigers. Each club will host three home-and-away matchdays in their market offering fans in every major city unprecedented access to their heroes.

The new competition will feature several rule innovations including ‘Pump Plays’, field goal conversions and ‘shoot-outs’ in the event of a drawn game.

Head of FOX SPORTS, Peter Campbell, said:

“We’re excited to partner with Hockey Australia and its members in this new era for the sport with Kayo Sports to stream selected Hockey One men’s and women’s matches, while FOX SPORTS will also televise the finals live. 

“We’ve seen a real appetite for top level hockey through our coverage of ProLeague on our FOX SPORTS and Kayo platforms this year. We are confident that Hockey One will provide compelling viewing for fans, with existing and future Kookaburras and HockeyRoos stars on show for our customers.”