Rugby Australia, nine Entertainment Extend ⁤Broadcast deal Through 2030

⁤ Updated June 01, 2025
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rugby Australia (RA) has solidified its partnership with Nine Entertainment, ⁣inking a five-year extension for its domestic broadcast rights. The agreement ensures continued coverage of key rugby union events on Nine’s platforms.

The new deal, set to commence in 2026 and run through 2030, encompasses⁢ a wide array of matches. These include men’s (Wallabies) and women’s (Wallaroos) national team games outside of the⁣ Rugby World Cups, Super Rugby Pacific and Super ‍Rugby Women’s matches, all SANZAAR Tests,⁢ the Nations Cup tournament (pending formalization), and Shute Shield (Sydney) and ⁢Hospital Cup (Brisbane) club games through at least 2027.

Nine’s linear free-to-air network and its Stan Sport streaming service will broadcast every⁢ home test fixture from both the men’s and women’s ‍national teams. The entirety of the annual ‍Bledisloe Cup will‍ also ⁤be available on both platforms,ensuring ⁤broad access for fans of⁢ Australian rugby.

The broadcast rights deal is reportedly valued at approximately AUD210 million ($126.4 million), translating to AUD42 million ($25.3 million) annually. Performance-based incentives could potentially increase ⁢the total value to AUD240 million ‍($144.5 million), depending on the performance of the national teams.

This represents a significant increase from the current AUD33.3 million ($24.2 million) per year that Nine pays for the rights. Nine secured ⁢the rights⁢ at a reduced price in ⁤2020, following⁣ the end of Rugby Australia’s partnership with Foxtel and a failed negotiation with Optus Sport due to the COVID-19⁢ pandemic.

In November 2020, Nine finalized a three-year agreement, including ⁢a two-year extension option, worth AUD$100 million ($73 million) with Rugby Australia for full rights to the sport.This agreement concluded Rugby Australia’s 25-year relationship with Foxtel.

The comprehensive deal, which began in 2021, includes‍ rights to the men’s Super Rugby ⁢and women’s Super W competitions, The⁢ Rugby ⁢Championship for national teams, other‍ Bledisloe Cup games between⁢ Australia and New Zealand, and women’s Wallaroos ⁢test matches.

Coverage is primarily⁣ featured on Stan, Nine’s subscription video-on-demand service.Additionally, Super Rugby ⁢Saturday ⁣night games are⁢ broadcast on free-to-air channels across Nine’s network, marking the first⁣ time the competition has⁣ been shown live on free-to-air television in Australia.

During the‍ final year of the ⁢initial three-year partnership, Nine exercised‍ its option⁢ to extend the deal, ensuring broadcast rights through ⁤the end of ⁢2025.

Prior to Nine’s coverage, Foxtel and Network ‍Ten held the rights under a five-year agreement from 2016 to 2020, valued at AUD275 million ($198 million) or AUD55 million ($39.6 million) annually.

Under that agreement, Fox Sports broadcast Australia national team games live, along with⁤ Super Rugby matches featuring⁤ teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Japan. Network Ten paid approximately AUD3.5 million per year to simulcast Wallabies games and broadcast one Super Rugby game on replay each⁤ weekend, plus Monday ⁤evening ⁤highlights. Ten’s delayed coverage marked the first⁤ free-to-air presence for⁢ the competition in Australia.

That contract more than doubled the previous ⁢AUD25 million-($23 million) per-year deal from 2011 to 2015.

What’s next

With the broadcast rights ‍secured, Rugby Australia and Nine Entertainment are poised to further develop rugby’s ⁢reach and engagement across Australia, leveraging both free-to-air and streaming platforms to connect with a broader⁤ audience.