Channel 9, Channel 7, DAZN and Amazon Prime to battle for 2026 Rugby League World Cup TV rights
A multibillion-dollar global streaming giant is a shock contender for next year’s Rugby League World Cup, with the NRL chasing a huge financial windfall on the back of the international game’s booming popularity.
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The NRL is chasing a $20 million global TV deal with four interested networks for next year’s Rugby League World Cup on the back of the boom in international football.
Channel 9, Channel 7, DAZN and streaming giant Amazon Prime have already expressed interest in the tournament to be played between October and November next year in Australia.
The emergence of Pacific powerhouses Samoa and Tonga to challenge the superiority of heavyweight Tier 1 countries Australia, New Zealand and England has sparked a surge of unprecedented interest in the international game.
It’s why the four TV networks will enter a bidding war for the local and northern hemisphere rights when negotiations start this week in a prelude to the NRL’s multibillion-dollar TV broadcast discussions.
Amazon Prime is an interesting new player on the scene.
The multibillion-dollar global giant started broadcasting major sport in 2017 but has never touched rugby league before.
Amazon Prime’s previous sports broadcasting rights deals have included the NFL, the NHL, soccer’s UEFA Champions League, the UK Premier League and the French Open tennis.
Channel 7 is a serious player, too. The network last covered rugby league at the 2017 World Cup. It is desperate to end Channel 9’s stranglehold on rugby league on free-to-air TV.
NRL bosses Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo, armed with key TV ratings figures from last year’s Pacific Championships, are handling the negotiations for the International Rugby League.
Australia v the Kiwis attracted 925,000 viewers, beating rugby union’s Bledisloe Cup (760,000) and the Socceroos v Saudi Arabia (436,000).
The Pacific Championships final between Australia and Tonga was a sellout at CommBank Stadium and the highest crowd for a Test match in Sydney since 2008.
The timing of the World Cup – in a quiet part of the sporting calendar between the NRL grand final and the cricket season – is an important tool in negotiations with the major broadcasters looking for strong, high-rating content to attract advertising revenue.
Abdo declined to comment on the specifics of the TV deal but said it would be the biggest international series in the game’s history.
“The World Cup in 2026 will be the best in its 70-year history,” Abdo said.
“The growth of international rugby league has been extraordinary and proves the strong appetite for the game on a global stage.”
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Originally published as Channel 9, Channel 7, DAZN and Amazon Prime to battle for 2026 Rugby League World Cup TV rights
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