Nine signs 5 year deal with Netball Australia

Nine has announced a five-year agreement with Netball Australia for domestic and international games.

The deal gives Nine all broadcast and other free media rights to:

· Two live games and two delayed games in the new national netball league each week, to be played as a prime-time, Saturday night double-header
· All international matches
· All Fast5 domestic and international championship games
· The Constellation Cup (Australia v New Zealand)
· The Quad Series (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England)

All games will be seen on Nine’s broadcast platform as well as 9NOW.

Telstra will simulcast Nine’s two live games each week and provide the other two weekly games live via subscription on their mobile devices.

Nine’s Managing Director, Amanda Laing, said: “Netball has long been the sleeping giant of Australian sport. It has a massive participation base and a national team who are ranked number one in the world as Commonwealth and World Cup Champions.

“Nine has a proud history of world-class sports coverage and our exceptional production and commentary teams are looking forward to bringing Australians the most compelling coverage of netball ever seen, highlighting the extraordinary athleticism and competitive spirit of the domestic and international teams.

“The other aspect of this deal which makes it so unique is that Nine and Netball Australia will work together to commercialise all the netball assets, whether that be signage and on-court assets or broadcast integration opportunities, and will share the revenue from such endeavours. We are both working collaboratively to grow the game and sponsorship engagement and revenue. It’s a great outcome for the athletes, the fans, the sponsors and the viewers at home.”

Chief Executive of Netball Australia, Kate Palmer, said: “This is the most significant broadcasting rights agreement in the history of Australian women’s sport. It is truly transformative.

“This partnership will deliver higher salaries for players, higher distributions to the clubs, enhanced sponsorship opportunities for Netball Australia and individual teams, and unprecedented exposure for netball.

“It has long been accepted that a comprehensive free-to-air broadcasting arrangement is essential to maximise the development of women’s sport in Australia. This is such a deal and we are delighted to be part of such an historic development. It is now our duty to make it work for netball and women’s sport in general.”

Nine’s Director of Sport, Tom Malone, said: “Nine has led the way for 40 years when it comes to innovation in sports broadcasting. Once again, Nine is embarking on a bold new sporting initiative by elevating netball with free-to-air, prime-time exposure, live and free, and on our digital platforms. There is a huge appetite amongst sponsors, advertisers, participants and viewers for women’s sport. Netball Australia has some of the best athletes in the country and the new Australian netball competition will unquestionably be the number one competition in the world.

“We are very proud to be part of this landmark deal that puts netball in its rightful position amongst Australia’s biggest national sports. Better still, we’ll be investing in and growing the sport together.”

Further details about the national competition and the broadcasting agreement will be announced in the coming weeks.