NRL set for major broadcasting shake-up as Channel 9, DAZN, Network 10 and Amazon set to go head-to-head

The next NRL broadcasting deal is set to smash records, with Channel 9 facing a serious battle to ward off rival networks.

There are two years left on the NRL’s existing agreement with Foxtel and Nine, but ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has set a mid-year deadline for finalising the league’s next broadcast arrangement.

The NRL is getting more eyeballs than ever before, and the addition of more clubs by the end of the decade has put them in a strong bargaining position.

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So the NRL is understandably hoping the next deal – like the sport - will be bigger and better than ever, but the reality is it won’t be a straightforward one.

That’s because traditional media has never been in a tougher position when it comes to going to the negotiating table, with Australia’s advertising market weakening each and every year.

Brisbane Broncos fullback Reece Walsh celebrates scoring a try against the Newcastle Knights. Picture: NRL

And it may only get harder with the Albanese government considering a gambling advertising ban during major sporting events, which would decimate broadcaster’s revenue.

However, on the flip side, the NRL is hoping to cash in big time with a boom in the sport’s popularity over the last five years, which has led to record audiences and revenues.

And V’landys told Code Sports, negotiations are set to begin in the coming months.

 “We will be negotiating the rights this year,” he said.

“They don’t start until 2027 but you need to give yourself a couple of years’ lead time.

“We hope to have something done in the middle of this year.”

Last time the deal was up V’landys struck a whopping $1.7 billion deal with Foxtel and Channel 9 in 2020 and will be hoping for an even more lucrative deal this time.

In an Olympics year, the NRL still managed four of the top five rating programs on free-to-air television for 2024, while Fox Sports reported record viewership for NRL games last year.

But with the tricky media landscape mixed with the potential big money to be made by cashing in on the NRL’s popularity surging, Australian free-to-air channels could be blown out of the water by foreign giants.

Last month Foxtel was sold to UK sports streaming giant DAZN (pronounced da-zone), which could give them a bigger kitty to pursue exclusive rights.

The next NRL broadcasting deal is set to be the most lucrative ever. Image: Getty

While Paramount, owners of Network Ten, has shown interest in Australian sports, as has the $4 trillion mega company Amazon.

And V’landys believes the NRL is in the perfect spot to cash in.

 “We have got the most valuable rights in Australian sport. Last year we were the most viewed sport in Australia,” V’landys said.

“It will also depend on if someone else wants the rights and there will be plenty of parties wanting the rights.

“The way free-to-air TV is going – sport, reality TV and news is their whole ball game. They are not competing for the other content anymore.”

Originally published as NRL set for major broadcasting shake-up as Channel 9, DAZN, Network 10 and Amazon set to go head-to-head