Goplay Commercial Playground Equipment
Goplay designs and manufactures specialised playground equipment for indoor play centres, hotels, food chains, clubs and resorts. If our years of experience and dedication have taught us one thing,…
read moreRugby Australia has announced an in-principle, three-year broadcast agreement with Nine Entertainment that it says will “reboot the game at every level".
The deal, which is set to commence in 2021 is worth $100 million over its duration will see all Super Rugby AU, Super W, and Super Rugby Aotearoa matches broadcast live and ad-free on Nine’s streaming service, Stan.
As part of the deal, Saturday night Super Rugby AU matches will be live on free-to-air on the Nine Network every week, along with all Super Rugby AU finals matches on free-to-air.
Stan will also have exclusive broadcast rights to every Wallaroos Test, The Rugby Championship, The Bledisloe Cup, and all inbound international test matches for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, with select matches to also be shown on free-to-air.
Announcing the agreement this morning, Rugby Australia Chairman, interim Chief Executive, Rob Clarke, said Australian rugby will benefit from additional investment for growing fan engagement from grassroots up, stating “Rugby Australia is very excited about our new partnership with Nine Entertainment Co. and what’s in store for our great game over the next three years and beyond.
“This is a landmark deal that includes everything in the showbag, and it gives more Australians more access to more rugby than ever before.
“We’re particularly pleased for Super Rugby to be live on free-to-air for the first time in its history.
“We’re also thrilled to partner with streaming service Stan, which now boast more than two million Australian subscribers and are growing at a rapid rate.”
With the package valuing rugby union's broadcast rights significantly lower than the $285 million over five years that Rugby Australia received under a deal with Foxtel, Channel 10 and BSkyB that expired last year, Clarke added “we’ve recognised that the broadcast landscape has changed, and we’re changing with it.
“Nine and Stan have also made a commitment to our women’s game, both at a domestic and international level.
“Rugby Australia is passionate about the growth of the women’s game in Australia and we look forward to working closely with them to showcase our competitions and talented players as well as encouraging more women and girls to pick up a rugby ball.”
Rugby Australia did not comment on the package's headline figure of $100 million other than noting it included both "cash and contra", which is believed to include free advertising for the sport.
However, the financial certainty will be a relief to the sport which had been without a long-term broadcast partner after an ill-timed push to secure more television cash coincided with the COVID-19 crisis.
The poor handling of the issue was cited as one of the reasons Raelene Castle left her role as Rugby Australia’s Chief Executive in April.
The sport was dealt a further financial blow in September, when Qantas Airways scrapped a long-running sponsorship deal reportedly worth $5 million annually.
The package will need to be approved by from its partners in the SANZAAR governing body - South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.
31st October 2020 - Federal Government backs Australian Rugby World Cup hosting bid with further $8.8 million funding
23rd October 2020 - Rugby Australia release statement supporting the Wallabies First Nations jersey
16th October 2020 - South Africa withdraws from Rugby Championship citing Coronavirus travel restrictions and player safety concerns
11th October 2020 - World Rugby’s updated transgender guidelines ban transwomen playing at elite level
30th September 2020 - South African teams to exit Super Rugby to play in Europe
28th September 2020 - Rugby Australia agrees interim players pay deal
23rd September 2020 - Qantas ends 30-year Rugby Australia sponsorship deal
11th September 2020 - Australia to replace New Zealand as host of 2020 Rugby Championship tournament
31st August 2020 - Rugby Australia restructure looks to achieve $15 million in savings
5th August 2020 - Phil Kearns appointed Executive Director of Australia’s Rugby World Cup 2027 bid
1st July 2020 - Coronavirus impact sees job losses at NSW Rugby
2nd June 2020 - Rugby Australia announces massive cut in staff numbers
16th May 2020 - Rugby Australia announces new Chair-elect
6th December 2016 - Former Wallaby joins industry insurers SLE Group
22nd April 2020 - Former Wallabies Captains call for immediate leadership change at Rugby Australia
26th July 2020 - NRL broadcasts lose more than a million viewers since competition restart
26th June 2018 - Channel Nine agrees 2019 Australian Open broadcast deal
29th March 2018 - Channel 9 and Tennis Australia agree five year tournament broadcast deal
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