Seven Network chief executive officer David Leckie has announced his retirement from the network immediately after inking the deal that will confirm that Seven will screen four matches a week plus finals, Grand Finals and Brownlow Medal counts from 2012 to 2016.
The deal marks the continuation of the long partnership between Seven and the League. Since the introduction of TV into Australia in 1956, Seven has been an AFL broadcaster for all but six years.
Leckie, 60, spent 23 years with the Nine Network, rising from the sales department to managing director. He was axed from that position in 2002 but surfaced at Seven 12 months later and steered the network out of the doldrums to become the most watched in Australia.
Under his watch, Seven's standing as a sports network was reinforced. It regained the AFL rights in partnership with Network Ten in 2007 and is also the home of the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Open tennis championships.
