Big brands, big season: Seven’s AFL in 2026 – Seven reveals partners and sponsors for Australia’s #1 winter sport.
Hot on the heels of the highest-rating AFL Grand Final since 2005 and record-breaking streaming audiences on 7plus Sport, the Seven Network today revealed its partners and sponsors for the 2026 AFL Premiership Season.
Toyota, McDonald’s, AAMI and Harvey Norman return as broadcast partners of Australia’s #1 winter sport.
The 2026 broadcast sponsors include leading brands Coles, Telstra, Sportsbet, Bunnings, Chemist Warehouse, Industry Super Funds, Hostplus, CBUS, NAB, Asahi Beverages, BWS, Colgate-Palmolive and Uber Eats.
Other brands that have signed on with major AFL packages or as ancillary program sponsors include SEEK, OMO Ultimate, Disney, Bupa, Gulf Western Oil, Jim Beam, Betr, Equip Super and view.com.au.
The Front Bar will be back in 2026 with premier partner Lion, plus program sponsors Youi, BWS, Hyundai and Sportsbet.
Building on the landmark launch of live and free AFL streaming in 2025, 7plus Sport will again give every Australian access to every round of the footy this season – live, free and on any device, from anywhere in the country.
Last year, Seven’s AFL coverage reached 17.6 million Australians, including 4.56 million on 7plus Sport. Seven’s AFL reached five million viewers each week of the 2025 regular season across Seven and 7plus Sport, an increase of 7% year-on-year.
The 2025 AFL Grand Final was the highest-rating Grand Final in two decades, averaging 4.18 million total TV viewers and reaching 6.2 million. The 7plus Sport audience for the Grand Final was 985,000, up 51% on the previous year. The 2025 Charles Brownlow Medal averaged 1.45 million national total TV viewers, up 14% on the previous year and the biggest Brownlow audience since 2015, with more than 335,000 people tuning in on 7plus Sport, up 72% year-on-year.
Seven’s National Television Sales Director, Katie Finney, said:
“The numbers from 2025 were remarkable – 17.6 million Australians reached, five million viewers every week, and streaming audiences growing strongly. That momentum carries into 2026, creating an extraordinary proposition for brands.
“Through a single conversation with Seven, brands can access inventory across Seven’s broadcast channels, 7plus Sport and Fox Footy simulcast matches on Kayo – reaching a complementary audience across every platform and maximising their reach. And Seven remains the only place brands can access the most unmissable ad break in marketing: the solus 30-second spot after a goal is kicked.
“Seven’s record-breaking summer of cricket – with the highest-rated Ashes Test series ever on Seven and the biggest Big Bash League audience in six years – means we arrive at AFL 2026 with extraordinary momentum across our 52-week sports line up. Live sport has never been more valuable for Australians or for brands,”
– she said.
Seven’s National Sport Sales Director, Rob Maclean, said:
“Seven’s AFL is the most unique marketing offering in sport in the country. The biggest games of the round, every week – Thursday nights, Friday nights, Sunday afternoons and marquee matches – plus seven days of footy fan engagement through our suite of ancillary programs. That consistent, appointment-viewing scale is what brands need.
“What makes Seven’s AFL so powerful for advertisers is the true incremental reach brands can achieve via the right combination of inventory across multiple platforms. Eighty per cent of our weekly 7plus Sport AFL audience is unique to the streaming platform, people that brands simply cannot reach on broadcast alone. Among 16 to 39s, that figure rises above 90%. These are new fans and lighter viewers being brought into the ecosystem as our streaming audience grows, and the numbers prove it: 7plus Sport streaming for AFL Origin in February this year was up 227% on the 2025 season average.
“Our strategy of creating new ancillary content delivered a 25% incremental weekly reach on top of live match coverage in 2025, with one million of our five million weekly viewers unique to the ancillary programs. The Front Bar, The Agenda Setters, Unfiltered, Extra Time and Sunday Footy Feast have become appointment viewing in their own right, and they create powerful new integrated opportunities for our commercial partners,”
– he said.
Seven’s Director of Sport, Chris Jones, said:
“The 2026 AFL season is set to be another landmark year for Seven and 7plus Sport. The growth we’ve seen in our streaming audiences tells us that new fans and lighter fans are being unlocked, and that is driving scale for our commercial partners.”
Seven’s AFL coverage in 2026 includes matches on Thursday nights, Friday nights, State Footy Saturdays, Sunday afternoons and more Sunday night games than ever before.
Seven will also show marquee games and every match in the AFL Finals Series including – exclusive to Seven and 7plus Sport – the Charles Brownlow Medal and the 2026 AFL Grand Final. Seven will also broadcast the introduction of the first ever Wildcard Round as part of the AFL Finals Series.
Fans in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia can watch every game involving teams from their home states on Seven and 7plus Sport. State league football will return in 2026, with SANFL and WAFL matches live on Saturdays throughout the season on Seven and 7plus Sport.
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Media Release – Seven
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Big brands, big season: Seven’s AFL in 2026
