Nine and Stan enter rugby rights fray in TV sports shake-up

Rugby Australia has had discussions to split rugby between Nine and streaming partner Stan, which could broadcast Super Rugby

A match between the Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies in Brisbane earlier this month. Picture: Getty Images

Nine Entertainment Co and its streaming service Stan have ­entered the fray for rugby union broadcast rights, in a move that could shake up the Australian sports telecasting landscape.

Under one plan being discussed, Nine could broadcast Wallabies Test matches on its free-to-air channel and then show Super Rugby matches online via Stan.

That would mean a maiden foray into live-sports broadcasting for Stan, Nine’s on-demand service that has mainly concentrated on positioning itself as an alternative to Netflix.

Nine is understood to have expressed an interest in broadcast rights during recent conversations with Rugby Australia, although that it does not necessarily mean it would pay large amounts of money to do so. But if a deal eventuates, it would signal a new shift for Australian sport.

Big Australian sports such as the AFL and NRL have courted the interest of the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime as potential competition for cash-strapped Australian free-to-air television networks and a nod to the rising popularity of over-the-top ­online services, but the revolution will likely start smaller with rugby.

A Stan spokesman would not comment, neither would Rugby Australia.

Any such move for rugby rights — which were the subject of a bitter wrangle earlier this year that eventually led to the departure of former Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle — would depend on the future structure of Super Rugby.

With COVID-19 restricting international travel, the competition was turned into a domestic-based league with five teams after a delay of several months, and will culminate with its final in Canberra this weekend ­between the Brumbies and Queensland Reds broadcast by Fox Sports.

A trans-Tasman Super Rugby involving New Zealand teams, and potentially a side from Japan and another from the Pacific Islands, has been mooted, but in likelihood would not be able to start until 2022.

Fox Sports is still in discussions with Rugby Australia ­regarding bidding for the rights after this year, which will culminate with it showing Wallabies Tests against New Zealand in October for the Bledisloe Cup and then the Rugby Cham­pionship.

But Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany, who withdrew a fresh $US125m, five-year offer for rugby rights last year, recently told a media conference that he only wants “tier one sport” for the subscription service and left rugby union out of a list of competitions he believed deserved top dollar.