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Top Gear Australia’s 2024 revival has arrived on 10 after all – a few months from its original screening on Paramount +

by Sports Benches

We thought this latest Top Gear Australia revival by Network 10’s paid streaming service Paramount + wouldn’t get a second free-to-air window as last said earlier this yea,  but it’s now on the main free-to-air channel after all as just premiered tonight – a months later from its original first-run Paramount + screening (May). It remains to be seen if TGA will be given on-demand access on 10 Play for those who didn’t get to watch this tonight.

The only difference 10 viewers will get on Top Gear Australia is a series of commercial breaks in each episode that goes up to 90 minutes, which is the same length we get from the original UK Top Gear episodes as it was before when these UK episodes last aired on Nine.

Everything else you will see isn’t that much with dedicated motoring redhead like Blair “Moog” Joscelyne reviewing performance-road cars in a similar way Chris Harris does for the UK show. 

Alongside him is a former professional athlete & an entertainer competing in challenges with Moog alongside Beau Ryan and Jonathan LaPaglia much like how the UK last had former England all-round cricketer Andrew Flintoff & comedian/presenter Paddy McGuiness.

Also, the car they use when they bring in celebrity guests to drive around the race track is the Subaru BRZ compact sports car coupe whose identical twin Toyota 86 was last used on the UK show. And lastly, don’t know where that new race track is as it’s not the Camden Airport airfield that the original Top Gear Australia version used on SBS (Season 1 & 2) and later Nine (Seasons 3 & 4) a long time ago. But what we do know that this latest studio building is filmed in Sydney’s Cockatoo Island.

Fingers crossed to see what the ratings will be like on 10 as we don’t know if Top Gear Australia will be back for 2025.  

Yes, the original UK show is currently not on air with Season 34 already cancelled midway through production following Freddie Flintoff’s freak crash two years ago. However, it looks like they had run its course unfortunately as this show no longer has the same popularity they once had before when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May left back in 2015-16. The show’s website may still live on but time will tell if TGA has unfinished business that would reflect well on Paramount +’s investment via 10. 

In the meantime, October has been living large with these first-run streaming shows now popping up on free-to-air – with Nine currently showing Bali 2002 (two episodes done with Episode 3 to come on Monday) & Ten doing the same with Top Gear Australia (1 done with 7 weeks to go).

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Thoughts on Network 10 retaining the Socceroos and Matildas rights for another four years until at least 2028 with the 2027 Women’s World Cup as part of the package

by Sports Benches

Yesterday, Network 10 officially extended its successful Football Australia contract who will continue airing the Men’s Socceroos and Women’s Matildas matches for another four years between 2025-2028.

Although there will be a couple of changes that you need to know going forward:

  • Home Socceroos matches remains live on 10 & 10 play but all away matches will be behind a paywall via Paramount + with the final round of World Cup Asian group qualifying set to begin later this year – expecting this to be similarly arranged across both the Socceroos and Matildas future friendly games.
  • 2027 Men’s Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia only on Paramount + regardless if the Socceroos qualify or not. It’s a shame there won’t be at least some free-to-air content unlike the previous one earlier this year in Qatar but again, they’re a team who is not at the top band of Asia unlike Japan at this stage – especially when their A-League comp isn’t so strong compared to the Saudi, Japanese and Korean domestic leagues.
  • But there’s a lot more though ahead for the Tillies with six free-to-air 2026 Women’s Asian Cup games on home soil and 15 2027 Women’s World Cup games in Brazil live on 10 & 10 Play with the rest on Paramount +. At least the best of our women’s soccer team will be showcased on free-to-air with the Women’s World Cup rights being a new addition to 10 thanks to Football Australia who recently purchased the 2027 Women’s World Cup rights on its own & then putting it onto this next Football Australia rights deal in order to fetch the best value possible. Sure, 10 missed out the previous Women’s World Cup last year to Seven & Optus Sport when it was held on home soil & also New Zealand, with the next edition going to be held early during the morning our time. But it’s better than nothing though since the Tillies is still on the rise despite their poor Olympics group stage exit at Paris 2024, although you can tell there was no Sam Kerr at the time as she’s still recovering from an ACL knee injury. 
  • All other AFC tournaments including the next two U23 Men’s Asian Cup editions for 2026 & 2028 still on Paramount + as well as the Australia Cup domestic knockout competition. It remains to be seen if some of the Round of 32 games onwards will be split across 10 Play & Paramount + or even see most games only on Paramount + but sure the annual grand final though will still be on 10 & 10 Play after all.

Not a bad deal to keep an excellent product that worked so well for 10 if you look at the Socceroos’s whirlwind 2022 journey to the main World Cup draw via Play-Offs as well as the Matildas’ enormous rise over these last few years. 

What’s next now is to sort out with the A-Leagues whose contract will expire at the end of the 2025/26 season with an option for a three-year extension. Since the competition standards aren’t so good as said with the AFC club rankings, this really translates their poor ratings across 10 and Paramount + where games have been aired on 10 Bold over the last few seasons rather than the main channel except the grand final. 

The good news that 10 is in no rush to stay covering Australian soccer when it comes to the A-Leagues but surely that’s up to the competition itself who needs to improve their standards as things won’t make much of difference if they stay running like this regardless of media partner before there’s nowhere else to look out for with competition at the end of the day. 

Although Foxtel would be happy to come back if it becomes available or 10 no longer wants it where some will be paywall and others would be free-to-view via Kayo Freebies (similar to what they do right now with Netball here), but an appropriate type of marketing, value and relationship with a particular broadcaster is key for that next domestic TV rights package.

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Thoughts on Optus Sport acquiring off Network 10/Paramount + for the FA Cup rights in Australia starting this August

by Sports Benches

So there we have it, Optus Sport is now your new home of the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield beginning later this year under a multi-year contract. Network 10 via Paramount + previously had the rights over the last three seasons but their contract has now expired and unable to renew its contract where they will now be left with the A-League both Men’s and Women’s competitions (expiring at the end of 2025/26) as well as the Socceroos and Matildas matches including their respective AFC and World Cup qualification campaigns (expiring soon but is expected to be renewed until at least 2028).

Meanwhile on Optus’s end, they’ve now got the FA Cup both men’s and women’s tournaments alongside the Premier League, La Liga, Copa America (currently ongoing), Women’s Super League in England and many more including the UEFA International Football competitions such as the Euro 2024 (also currently ongoing) as well as the yearly Nations League.

That’s a bit of surprise when we first thought the FA Cup would return to free-to-air here for 10 since they’ve first acquired the rights off ESPN to at least air the big Final LIVE like SBS used to so for so many years and decades. However, that’s no longer a requirement nowadays since it’s no longer protected by the government & 10 didn’t have to make this happen by just chucking the highlights and its extras content including these past archives for free on 10 Play while having the whole lot such as all the live and on-demand matches being locked up behind a paywall via Paramount +. Although they did have the Youth Cup knockout rounds including the final in front of a paywall only online on 10 Play, but that’s the bare minimum they could do likewise with the early round senior matches during their first year if I recall up until the fifth-round proper I think and then everything else is only Paramount +. Unfortunately, that’s not going to change anytime soon where the only free content Optus Sport will show is show 3 minute highlight matches of each round hours after the game is done in the morning – It’s the same thing they do with other footballing properties Optus shows such as the Premier League, the WSL & UEFA Internationals.

Other than that, not much of a loss from 10 to lose one part of their soccer rights and something to gain from Optus by having another major English Football Domestic competition that complements the Premier League and even the Women’s Super League well in the FA Cup & Community Shield. I’m sure they will have the FA Youth Cup as part of the bigger deal with the FA this week while continuing to air the Women’s FA Cup which is contracted separately to the Men’s competition.

For now, you can view all the FA Cup stuff including the entirety of the 2023-24 season while you can on 10 and Paramount + up until August before Optus Sport takes over beginning with another Manchester derby between Manchester United v Manchester City this time for the Community Shield trophy once again on Sunday August 10 at Wembley Stadium.

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Entertainment

Thoughts on Top Gear Australia making its long awaited return yesterday but only on Paramount + with no second free-to-air viewing anytime soon on Network 10

by Sports Benches

It’s been a long time coming since Top Gear was so popular worldwide when you got Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May onboard until the unexpected split nearly 10 years ago after Jeremy’s fracas with a producer saw the series go downhill ever since with multiple hosts like Friends alum Matt LeBlanc, Radio Host Chris Evans and the late Sabine Schmitz who was great at racing cars from Germany – even the final latest trio of former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff, TV personality Paddy McGuiness and Chris Harris didn’t go so well at times as none of them can really emulate the OGs.

We also had a couple of seasons with Top Gear Australia when things also didn’t go so well last time mainly when it was aired on Nine between 2010-12 despite a good start with Series 1 on SBS (who used to hold the distribution rights from the beginning) and now the show is back once more this time with a brand new trio of hosts alongside a brand new network to air these episodes that will is going to be behind a paywall on Network 10’s paid streaming platform Paramount +. You got two well-known hosts and a car enthusiast likewise with the other Top Gear shows worldwide such as Australian Survivor host and actor Jonathan LaPaglia, former Rugby League/NRL player and TV host Beau Ryan and Blair “Moog” Joscelyne.

So no Shane Jacobson (well-known actor) who moved on even though he’s always so passionate about cars as he was from the previous version on Nine last time alongside Ewen Page as well as original host across both networks Steve Pizzati.

All they will do for this instalment is travel around the world to take on some fun and difficult challenges alongside some in-studio segments at Cockatoo Island such as reviewing the latest cars & have The Stig test it out on an undisclosed race track while there will be a celebrity guest segment stopping by each episode with an interview including taking part behind the wheel (Subaru BRZ much like Toyota GT86 in the UK one) in a pre-taped lap from the same circuit. The Australian revival was originally announced at the Network 10 upfronts late last year as part of this year’s Paramount + Australian offerings with 4-5 months of filming as the premiere already launched yesterday with more weekly episodes to come in the next coming weeks.

And according to Mediaweek.com not long before the premiere, it seems we won’t have the chance to see it on Network 10 at all with no second window viewing at a later date unlike NCIS Sydney who finally made their way to free-to-air here a few days ago from its original November 2023 premiere on Paramount + worldwide and CBS in the USA. I guess it’s a show that is going to have a small following amongst car enthusiasts who love to see the best new stash of stuff on the planet rather than take it on a wider audience where most people might not be interested that much at the end of the day but understandable.

Top Gear Australia has been there, done that and unfortunately crashed and burnt when it was previously on Nine while they were they had the rights to air the original UK series a decade ago. And speaking of the UK version whose status is on hold for the time being after a series of Freddie Flintoff’s crash-prone accidents in recent years while hosting the show, Paramount + also now holds the Australian rights off Stan and you can view these latest episodes right now alongside the Australian revival.

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