Netball Australia signs five-year deal with Foxtel

Foxtel’s Kayo has secured a groundbreaking five-year deal with Netball Australia, in a blow to current rights holder Nine.

Magpie's Melissa Bragg and Lightning's Maddie McAuliffe battle it out in Super Netball. Picture: Evan Morgan

Foxtel has struck a major five-year netball broadcast and digital rights deal with Netball Australia, which will see its pay-television and streaming platform Kayo Sport showcase the popular sport from next year.

Foxtel chief content and commercial officer Amanda Laing said the deal will help build the profile of Super Netball, which has been broadcast on the Nine Network and Telstra TV in recent years.

“By bringing the free and paid broadcast and digital rights together, we can establish a more consistent competition schedule which will strengthen audience engagement,” Ms Laing said.

“We have a reputation for innovation and will use our production expertise and marketing capability across Foxtel and Kayo to support netball’s continued growth.”

Netball Australia interim chief executive Ron Steiner described it as a “landmark deal for the sport and provides the foundation for Suncorp Super Netball to grow and enhance its status as the best elite netball competition in the world.

‘’It also provides financial security that will enable netball’s member organisations to nurture what is Australia’s number one female team participation sport. Netball’s mission is to empower women and girls and connect communities, and the wide-ranging impact of this deal will drive those outcomes.’’

Under the agreement, every game of the Super Netball competition will be available live and ad-break free during play on Foxtel’s platforms and Kayo. Each week, two Super Netball games will be available as part of Kayo’s recently announced Kayo Freebies, along with every match of the Super Netball finals series. The Australian Diamonds matches will also be available on Kayo Freebies.

Foxtel’s deal with Netball Australia is a blow to commercial television broadcaster Nine Network, which has shown netball matches for the past four years with one year left to run on its five-year contract. Netball games have also been available on Telstra TV.

It comes a day after Kayo announced a new landmark sport deal with telco giant Telstra , which will give sport fans access to major sporting events at a sharply discounted price.

Foxtel counts News Corp, as its major shareholder with a 65 per cent stake, with the rest owned by Telstra.

Originally published as Netball Australia signs five-year deal with Foxtel