Australian Football Association of North America

Australian Rules Football Television Coverage in 2013

We have full schedules at this link. 
We have weekly radio listings for the AFL at our AFL Radio page

This page will give you the basic facts you need to know about TV Coverage in the USA and Canada in 2013.  (Information will be updated as necessary throughout the 2013 season.)  For the latest schedules see the TV schedules page. Nationwide coverage of Aussie rules in 2013 for North American fans is as follows:

• Fox Soccer Plus (nationally in USA - for Canada see below). Coverage in 2013 is on Fox Soccer Plus (FSP).  FSP is the subscription counterpart to Fox Soccer and is a distinct channel.  (Do not assume if you get Fox Soccer that you necessarily get FSP, too.  You may or you may not.)  FSP is an additional charge on most cable systems.  On some it is $14.99 per month, on others including Time Warner cable it is part of a package of sports channels priced at $7.99 a month (may vary slightly by area).  It is available to customers of some cable companies including DirecTV*, DISH, Verizon FiOS, At&T U-verse, most Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse systems, Cox, Cablevision, BlueRidge, Bendbroadband, SureWest, FullChannel, Frontier, RCN cable, and others. About 65% of US homes can receive FSP.  FSP will carry 2 matches live per week (on average, may vary) plus all finals live.  FSP will have the 2013 Grand Final live. FSP will also carry the AFL Winners highlight show produced by Foxtel in Australia each week.  FSP has a 3 year contract running through the end of the 2014 AFL season. See our TV schedules page for the latest schedules. Should Fox convert FSP to another Fox channel or eliminate it, it is probable that the AFL will land on another Fox channel late in the 2013 AFL season. Based on Fox statements we think this is highly unlikely before the end of the 2013 season. 
  
  *DirecTV customers (only) should note that matches to do not originate in high definition (HD) are not aired on the FSP-HD feed (ch. 621.1) on that service.
  
  There are repeats of the FSP AFL coverage also on...
  
  
• Fuel TV (nationally in USA by satellite and cable). Fuel TV is a premium sports channel that is included in some extended cable packages and is part of an extra fee sports tier in others.  Coverage on Fuel TV consists of taped and edited 2 hour "Match of the Week" repeating the matches aired the prior weekend on Fox Soccer Plus.
  
  
• TSN Canada (TSN2 and TSN,ca) (nationally in Canada) carries one match per week on TSN2 on a live or delayed basis. That match is then available on demand on TSN.ca but only for 48 hours following the match start time.  TSN2 is available on many cable and satellite systems in Canada.  The matches aired on TSN2 and TSN.ca may be different than those aired in the USA. Coverage of the Grand Final will probably be live on TSN2 as it has been for the past several seasons. 
   
• Internet coverage:  (Internet coverage has changed in 2013!) There is live and repeat coverage of all matches of every round via the new AFL-TV service. This is a subscription service for video and fans can sign up here.  Subscriptions can be by round, month, finals only, or annual (approx US$130 for the entire season). All matches of every round are available live.  Early reports indicate the service does work on non-Windows PC's including Macs and Linux machines now as well as mobile devices including the iPad™. See our preliminary article on 2013 coverage for more info and useful user comments on Internet coverage.
  
  TSN.ca matches on demand are available only for 48 hours after the starting time of the match (by the clock).  This means that if the match begins at 5:00 AM Friday US time, it will only be available until 5:00 AM Sunday US time.
  
  Some fans are connecting their computers to the their televisions to watch the matches from the online services on a bigger screen.  (Sorry, we cannot offer technical advice on how to do this but feel free to ask for assistance from other fans in our discussion forums by clicking on "Talking Footy" on the drop down menu and following the links. There is extensive help available by searching the Internet.)
  
  The AFL has a YouTube channel with selected match highlights, interviews, and other short segment video (but not full matches or TV programs).
  
  
  
• Fans on the extreme west coast of North America and in Hawaii may be able to access the Australian Broadcasting Company's Australia Network.  The Australia Network provides live coverage of 5 or more AFL games per week.  This games are available "free to air" (FTA) however a very large (up to 9 ft diameter) pointable dish is required on the US west coast due to the low angle of the satellites on the horizon and the weak signal.  Access in Hawaii is possible with 3 ft diameter dishes.  For more information and schedules see the ABC web site.  For more information on FTA satellite reception see the links below.  As far as we know, the Australia Network is not available on any US or Canadian cable or satellite system nor is distribution planned. 

There is no coverage on Fox Sports Net, any ESPN outlet, and Setanta Sports in 2013.  Coverage on MHz Network and it's affiliates ended on July 7, 2012 for undisclosed reasons.  The coverage schedules on FSP, TSN2, and FuelTV are the same everywhere in the USA and Canada respectively.  There are no regional feeds of those channels.  In other words, you get the same programs at the same times (adjusted for your time zone) regardless of what state, province, or city you live in.
 
To get Roku check out this link
Roku

To get DirecTV check out this link:
DirecTV 

To get DISH Network check out this link:
DISH

To get Free to Air satellite check out these links:
Sadoun Sales (installer and hardware provider):  http://www.sadoun.com/
Aeonsat (hardware provider) http://www.aeonsat.com
A FTA system installed will cost about $200 or so.