All the graphics in the coverage of matches said 6.30pm start. It really will start at 6.30pm as per the EPG and media release.
The Today graphic said 7pm. The promo doesn’t go with any specific time (although still understandable for most of the audience except Perth, where it will be 3.30pm).
Very synchronised.
Having watched it on Stan, I know Rybakina’s second interview was for the AO world feed because she went straight to their set in the media centre Sully mentioned after finishing up on Nine.
Global Shop Direct’s Copper Head Hose advertorial during the Aus Open final, taking up an entire break, was that a playout error? Or did they actually pay for that!
And Allison Langdon true to Paris 2024 form, still calling Brace his surname “Bracey” 
The two of them are pretty awkward, makes Seven’s Hamish McLachlan and Abbey Gelmi look okay.
That aligns with 2029 being the final year of Nine’s current AO/Tennis Australia rights deal.
As such, if they do lose those rights (something which I think is a possibility if they’re a major part of the next NRL rights deal), the door could be open for a future partner to replace Nine as the home of the grand slams.
Anything is a possibility but Nine Entertainment are clearly positioning themselves as a sports proposition going into the streaming-native age.
Of course but they’re already paying a significant amount for their ‘core’ sports rights (i.e., NRL, Olympics, tennis, rugby union and soccer). Over the next few years, that will have to substantially increase if they want to maintain (Premier League, UEFA competitions and AO/TA) or increase/enhance (NRL) the rights they currently have.
Whenever a network has been aggressive in obtaining sports rights, a correction is almost inevitable. We’ve seen it happen with Seven when they were in Nine’s position not too long ago. We saw it happen with Sky Sports in the UK when BT Sport (now TNT Sports) emerged as a serious rival. If Nine keeps spending big on sports, it’s not a question of if but when the same thing will happen with them.
I think they’d let the Olympics go before the TA deal, if it came down to it. For a variety of reasons.
They’re locked into the Olympics until Brisbane 2032 though. That rights deal will be on top of what happens over the next few years.
They may just have to wait then, it’d be very risky and potentially foolish, given Nine were deep down all about Brisbane 2032 and there’s a high chance they won’t want/need the IOC deal after then. In which case they’d be without both and we’d be back to a ‘Seven 2018 and prior all over again. NEC have invested and strategized incredibly across some 8-9 years now.
Commentators?
That means it’s possible that Wimbledon 2027 will clash with the Ashes tour which is also on Nine.