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Nine Entertainment and Foxtel have retained the media rights to the NRL in a $5.3bn deal which will see the games aired on the free-to-air network and the global streaming company DAZN until 2034.
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) chairman Peter V’landys said the seven-year agreement from 2028 marked “a defining moment for rugby league”.
“The Commission has worked hard in the last five years to make the game more entertaining for our fans, effectively doubling our audience,” he said. “Our players and clubs that made this possible will now be justifiably rewarded.”
Nine will screen the NRL grand final and both the men’s and women’s State of Origin series. It has also acquired the exclusive free-to-air and free streaming rights to broadcast three live NRL games a week, on each of Thursday and Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Foxtel and Kayo Sports have the rights to live coverage of every home and away game of both NRL and NRLW seasons, and every finals game except the grand final.
While the distribution of the men’s matches across Nine and Foxtel remains the same as under the existing deal, from 2028 the number of NRLW games on free-to-air television will halve, from 66 per season to 33.
The deal eclipses 2022’s record $4.5bn deal for the AFL.
Nine Entertainment told the ASX it would pay $145m in cash to the NRL each year, which will be offset by $10m worth of advertising by the code.
V’landys said the NRL will be getting 95% of the $5.3bn in cash.
“The previous deal was 10% contra,” he said at the announcement in Sydney. “This hasn’t been an accident, this has been achieved by some very hard work. In the past five years we have changed the game, effectively doubling the audience.”
Nine CEO Matt Stanton said the partnership with the NRL was entering its fourth decade. “The next era presents an extraordinary opportunity for rugby league,” Stanton said.
“Nine brings together an unmatched breadth of media capabilities and a proven track record of growing audiences, deepening fandom and creating cultural moments around the game’s biggest occasions. This year alone, the top two highest-rating television programs across any Australian broadcaster have both been NRL, demonstrating the enduring strength of the game and the opportunity that still lies ahead.”
Delany said Kayo Sports and Foxtel would remain the home of NRL and live sport in Australia well into the next decade.
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“We have been partners in the growth of rugby league for 30 years and are committed to working with the NRL to grow the game at all levels, elevate the fan experience and deliver even better innovation for audiences watching across Australia and in 200 international markets through DAZN,” Delany said.
The NRL’s current deal with Nine Entertainment and Foxtel – ending at the end of the 2027 season – is worth around $400m per year.
The NRL attracts huge TV ratings and lucrative sponsorship deals and has been highly contested between free-to-air and streaming services.
Last year’s grand final between Brisbane and Melbourne drew an average audience of almost 4.5m, the first time it eclipsed the AFL showpiece in a year since 2015.
The first match of the men’s State of Origin attracted close to 4m, up 6% year on year, while the women’s series consistently draws around 1m viewers, figures that are the envy of women’s Australian rules.
The new deal comes into play in 2028, when the PNG Chiefs join the competition as its 19th team, following the addition of the Perth Bears in 2027.
V’landys claimed the NRL was “the most viewed program in Australia and in the Pacific”.
“Don’t listen to what other people tell you, especially down south, we are the No 1-viewed sport in Australia,” he said. “The deal future-proofs the game for everybody ... our ambition is to grow the game globally.”
