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Live and primetime netball on free-to-air: Netball Australia seals landmark TV deal

An Australian national netball competition is on the way (Photo via www.anz-championship.com)
19th May, 2016
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Netball Australia have announced a groundbreaking TV deal with Channel Nine, ensuring as of 2017 netball will be seen both live and in primetime on Australian free-to-air TV.

The deal paves the way for Australia to create their own national netball league, signalling an end to the current ANZ Championship format.

Netball Australia announced on Thursday that the current season will be the last to feature teams from both Australia and New Zealand.

The move will see the introduction of three new teams for the 2017 season, alongside the five existing sides from Australia, to create an eight-team competition.

It is expected the three new teams will be closely aligned to existing clubs from other sports, with the Collingwood Magpies, Melbourne Storm (based at the club’s Sunshine Coast facilities) and Greater Western Sydney Giants (in conjunction with Netball NSW) the three “preferred bidders” for the new team licenses.

The news comes along with the announcement of a new five-year broadcast rights deal with Channel Nine and Telstra, an agreement which will see two live games televised on the Nine Network each week.

Two additional games will be shown on delay by Nine, while the remaining two matches of every round will be available on Telstra TV. Every match will be streamed live through the Netball Live app.

“This is the most significant broadcasting rights agreement in the history of Australian women’s sport,” said Kate Palmer, chief executive of Netball Australia.

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“It is truly transformative. It lays the foundation for the full professionalisation of elite netball and the cementing of Australia’s reputation as having the prime netball competition in the world.”

The agreement is expected to lead to higher salaries for players and increase the exposure of the sport in Australia.

“In the future, this day will be regarded as the beginning of full professionalism in Australian netball,” Palmer said.

John Wylie, chair of the Australian Sports Commission, lauded the deal as a massive boost for women’s sport in Australia.

“This is a red-letter day for netball and women’s sport,” Wylie said. “Together with recent developments in cricket and football, these are the dividends of a long struggle for proper recognition of women’s team sports. I have no doubt the audiences will flock to the new competition. Netball is ready for the big stage.”

The full terms of the broadcasting agreement are as follows:

• There will be 60 games played in Australia’s new national netball league season from February, with two live games and two delayed games to be played as a prime-time, Saturday night double-header on the Nine Network (free-to-air)
• The remaining two live games will be available on Telstra TV
• All games will be broadcast live through the Netball Live app
• The Fast5 Netball World Series, to be held in Melbourne this October, will be the first event to be broadcast under the new agreements with Nine and Telstra
• Fans will be able to watch all Australian netball content live on the big screen – including the new national netball league, Fast5 World Netball Series and Diamonds international Test matches

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