Why Rugby Australia traded free-to-air control for $215m windfall in new Nine broadcast deal
By Tom Decent
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has confirmed there is “no contractual obligation” for Super Rugby to be shown on free-to-air television from 2026 but believes a more lucrative broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment could help retain the game’s best talent.
This masthead revealed on Tuesday that RA had taken extra cash from Nine Entertainment – a guaranteed $215 million across five years from 2026 to 2030 – but had ceded control over whether Super Rugby Pacific matches would be broadcast on free-to-air television like they have done since 2021.
Wallabies and Wallaroos matches will continue to be shown on free-to-air and on Nine’s subscription streaming service, Stan Sport, but a requirement for the Saturday evening Super Rugby match to be screened on free-to-air is no longer part of the contract.
Nine, owners of this masthead, insist a decision on Super Rugby’s free-to-air presence is yet to be finalised and that there could be flexibility in scheduling, which could still see select Super Rugby games put onto one of its FTA channels.
Waugh hopes RA, and the increased success of Australian teams, can convince Nine to show domestic matches on FTA after announcing a significant $65m uplift in a new broadcast deal following year-on-year increases in Stan and Nine’s rugby viewership.
One club rugby match will now be shown on free-to-air each week in both Sydney and Brisbane, however.
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh.Credit: Renee Nowytarger
“There’s no contractual obligation for Nine to put it on free-to-air,” Waugh told reporters at Nine’s offices in North Sydney on Wednesday.
“We’re striking the balance between value and exposure. Clearly we’re in an environment where it’s hugely competitive to keep talent. [It is about] ensuring that the value and the economics work to be able to keep our talent in this country so that we can put a product out onto the field that people want to watch.
“You’d be well across the trend in viewership and consumption, where most households now across the country have streaming platforms.
“We’re very optimistic around the journey that Nine is on around greater integration across their platforms.”
(L-R): Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh, Nine CEO Matt Stanton, Maddison Levi, Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, and Morgan Turinui. Credit: Renee Nowytarger
RA could earn as much as $25 million in bonuses if the Wallabies and other men’s Super Rugby teams improve their winning records under a new incentive scheme.
The Wallabies managed just two victories in 2023 and had a 46 per cent win rate last year.
“It’s a really exciting and successful outcome,” Waugh said of the bonus structure. “We want to maximise value, obviously, for Rugby Australia, but equally we need to ensure we’re maximising value for Nine in that partnership.
“[The Wallabies] haven’t been sitting as high as we would all like on the world rugby rankings table. So that’s going to be really important for us to continue to win Test matches … and ultimately, through the incentive agreement it will increase value.”
Nine chief executive Matt Stanton said in a statement: “Today’s announcement reinforces Nine’s position as the home of Australia’s biggest sporting moments – bringing unrivalled entertainment, access and reach to fans, and the strongest and most effective partnership for premier sporting bodies that delivers like no other Australian media organisation can.”
Meanwhile, Waugh said RA was in the final stages of appointing a Wallabies coach, more than two months after Joe Schmidt confirmed he would be standing down after this year’s Rugby Championship.
The uncertainty over Schmidt’s replacement was a major factor in Brumbies and Wallabies No.10 Noah Lolesio deciding he would leave Australian rugby for a deal in Japan.
“We’re working hard to provide clarity and given the uncertainty that the group has had over the last period of time, we lost a couple of players last year due to the environments they’ve been in,” Waugh said.
“We’re hopeful we can announce it reasonably quickly, but we’re well and truly at the final stages of that process.”
Watch all the action from the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match ad-free, live and on demand.