Nine Entertainment Co has won the broadcast and streaming rights for Australian netball until the end of 2031 as the sport comes out from behind a paywall for the first time in five years.
The deal with Netball Australia gives Nine, owner of this masthead, access to all Australian Diamonds matches, the Super Netball competition and next year’s World Cup in Sydney, where the Diamonds will defend their title on home soil.
The sport will be shown across the Nine Network, 9Now and streaming service Stan. The new deal kicks in from January 1, 2027, after DAZN-owned Foxtel’s $35 million, five-year broadcast partnership expires.
Netball Australia chair Liz Ellis said the move from the pay TV operator to a free-to-air broadcaster was critical for the sport to increase its exposure.
“I think the message that I have heard clearly since coming into the role as chair is that the community want to access netball live and free and that’s certainly what this Nine deal delivers,” Ellis told this masthead.
“Look, we’ve had a terrific partnership with Fox Sports for the last five years,” Ellis said.
“But as we move into the next phase of our strategic plan, the ability to take our game to the community is incredibly important. And we know that our community consumes netball in a lot of different ways.
“So to be able to see it on linear television, to be able to download it and stream it [on 9Now], to be able to find it on Stan is really important.”
Super Netball is regarded as the best domestic league in the world but heavy financial losses were revealed in a 2022 report, the same year Netball Australia was hit by the withdrawal of a $15 million Hancock Prospecting sponsorship.
However, the Australian Financial Review reported Netball Australia more than doubled its surplus in the 2024 calendar year to $650,883 – its best performance since 2012.
The Victorian government recently renewed its deal for the Super Netball grand final, to be hosted at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, after last year’s decider won by the Melbourne Vixens drew a record crowd of more than 15,000 to Rod Laver Arena.
Netball is Australia’s biggest participation sport for women and girls.
Nine Group managing director Amanda Laing declined to reveal the value of the five-year broadcast deal but said the media company was looking forward to growing the game, alongside its existing deals with NRL, rugby union, EPL and Champions League soccer, and tennis.
“We believe women’s sport is one of the strongest growth stories in media, and this partnership is another important step in our commitment to back it with real platforms, real visibility and real ambition,” she said.
Netball Australia last year called for expressions of interest from potential investors in the hope of expanding Super Netball to include two more teams, to create a 10-team competition.
Ellis confirmed that with the broadcast deal secured, Netball Australia could “go back and look at the modelling to see if the expansion was possible”.
“I’ve long been an advocate for it, but we’re going to do it the way that is fiscally responsible, and it’s something that personally I’d love to see.
“So we’ll just go back now and make an assessment and keep working with the parties who’ve expressed an interest in adding a team.
Ellis said Netball Australia would also continue to advocate for the sport’s inclusion into the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
“It [the Olympics] is something that we’ll continue to advocate for, and it’s something that I’ve dreamed about for a long time, so it’s certainly a goal,” she said.
The Diamonds’ Commonwealth Games campaign will be shown on Seven this winter as part of that network’s Games coverage in Glasgow.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.