Lisa Alexander: Bold TV gamble Super Netball should consider to go to next level

Netball is the No.1 women’s sport in the country but it must grow to become one of the most powerful codes across all sports in Australia, writes LISA ALEXANDER. She explains the key change she would make to accelerate its growth.

Growing the audience for Super Netball must be a priority for the new Netball Australia board - especially as expansion continues to be a hot topic of conversation in the sport.

News this week that Liz Ellis has been appointed to the NA board for one-year is a win for the game as it gives another powerful voice to a leader who has the vision to think outside the box to grow our sport.

We are the No.1 women’s sport and we must aim to grow to become one of the most powerful codes across all sports in Australia.

Almost every sport has seen its most significant revenue growth from television rights so for netball to fight for its deserved share of those dollars it is time to get creative with the fixtures and game schedule.

The traditionalists will cry about this, but is Saturday the right day to be playing Super Netball matches?

Do weekends still work for netball?

Liz Ellis joining the Netball Australia board is a win for the sport. Picture: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images

Would the game drive a higher television audience from a midweek schedule where it could be the only sporting option on television.

At the moment we play almost exclusively two games on both Saturday and Sunday - the same days the majority of our one-million community players are also out on courts playing the game they love.

Should we avoid Saturday altogether?

Should netball try more games on a Friday night or regular Monday night fixtures?

People can stop flicking around Married At First Sight or Farmer Wants a Wife or whatever it is, They can watch netball instead.

Maybe we need to stop trying to compete with the traditional AFL and NRL time slots and experiment with other opportunities to carve out our own niche in the Australian sporting landscape.

The growth of netball must come from driving bigger television audiences and commanding a bigger deal from our next rights negotiations.

Super Netball can’t afford another season of the same old same old thinking.

I’ve written about that before and I will keep writing about it until the people in power show us their clear vision for the future to make our game bigger and better than ever.

I know this season has started with enormous promise.

Fox Sports television ratings are up across the first three rounds and many games are being played in sold out venues.

This is a fantastic result, and clubs should be applauded, but I wonder if bigger long term TV audience growth can be achieved by thinking boldly.

Netball has rarely ventured into midweek games other than public holidays, so I’d be interested to see if with the right marketing and promotion for a Monday or Friday night match could deliver consistently better ratings and interest in our game.

Next week the Fever host the Firebirds on Friday night, netball fans need to vote with their remotes if they want to see midweek games for evening entertainment.

The Fever’s match against the Firebirds next Friday could be a sign of things to come. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The game and broadcasters should have a keen interest in how this timeslot performs, especially if expansion is on the agenda in the coming years.

As I suggested recently, Super Netball should be aspiring towards a 12-team league and you can’t expect to play six games in two days.

Ideally you would play Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We should trial that format sooner rather than later with our current four-game schedule.

I know the clubs drive their biggest revenue from ticket sales, so any move in schedule needs to consider the impact that may have on clubs and the fans who regularly attend home games.

But your rusted-on fans will commit to attending games regardless of the day or time.

I want to see netball give Mondays a red-hot crack next season. See if we can grow the television audience significantly as the main national sport option on television.

Monday night netball - that’s a risk worth taking.