Netball is played in many countries around the world, so not a non-international sport.
I also think Nine and 10 will be interested in the next netball deal. Nine was bitter when it lost the rights to Foxtel.
Nine and Stan would be a good fit with a free to air game on 9Gem. The other alternative is 10/P+
It is but not like football or F1. DAZN have already baulked at the AFL rights deal and probably won’t like the numbers when they see the cricket. They’ll also want to cut costs on NRL.
They’ll need to balance that with driving subscriptions.
I suspect netball might have done quietly well for them in that regard.
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By all accounts, Fox has had decent viewer numbers for the Super Netball for a while now. They’ve mounted a fairly decent coverage of the sport too.
I think they’re going to struggle to get real FTA interest - the season overlap means they’re going to be playing second and third fiddle potentially to other sports at Nine & Seven.
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Someone go wake up Bev
That’s a questionable statement considering netball has had one broadcast partner for the last four years and Super Netball has had a consistent fixture structure (generally two Saturday twilight/night and two Sunday afternoon games) for the last few years.
All Sunday afternoon Super Netball games, every SN finals game and all Diamonds games have been freely available on Kayo.
Now, you can make a valid argument that (for obvious reasons) it hasn’t been really promoted. However, a substantial amount of content has been offered in an accessible manner.
Why wouldn’t it? Considering it seems Netball Australia are open to a hybrid subscription/FTA arrangement, DAZN and Seven getting the rights would offer exactly that in the same way a Nine/Stan or 10/Paramount+ deal would. Your hatred of DAZN and Seven doesn’t change that fact.
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If Netball wants to keep Fox Netball but also add a FTA, they can partner with Fox & 7. 7 can replace its no Saturday AFL with Netball on 7mate or 7two depending on local footy etc.
Or they can go to 9/Stan or 10/paramount.
Kayo did have freebies so it’s wasn’t all behind paywall. So they could keep status quo
For a niche sport it’s not a good look to be on a predominately subscription service.
No one knows this service exists. You still need an account to see it. It’s not really accessible. There’s no ease to finding where to watch these alleged free games. If you want to build the sport you need to be easy to access, especially for a niche sport.
Putting to one side my preferences. The current AFL arrangement between the two is a disaster and the sport would benefit from being in one ecosystem with 9/stan or 10/paramount. The promotional leverage across the common platforms far outweigh 7/DAZN.
My hatred for DAZN exists given their questionable practices and funding model. Not to mention being backed by the Saudis.
Yeah, well it wouldn’t have been a good look for NA to go bankrupt which was going to happen if they’d stuck with ‘exposure’ on FTA in the absence of money.
Netball fans have had to stream their sport very early - NA had to stream a lot of the comp on their own platforms because Nine didn’t want to show it all under the previous deal. I’d say they’re used to it.
I thought you were putting aside your preferences
Preferences yea but opinions no.
People are very unhappy about the deal and a few months ago there was much coverage about it so it’s not just me.
I remember Nine sublicensed Telstra TV (which closed in October last year) a match per week when the network had the rights.
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Maybe 2 even? Can’t recall.
Unless NA can do a deal whereby everything airs on FTA, netball is going to continue predominantly being on subscription service.
If you’re seriously suggesting Kayo is a service no one knows exists, the mind boggles to think where that leaves Stan and Paramount+.
Pretty sure it was two games a round on Telstra TV and a netball app operated by Telstra while Nine aired the other two games.
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News Corp reports Seven is positioning itself as a contender to bring Super Netball back to free-to-air, with talks underway ahead of the next broadcast cycle. Fox Sports’ current $35 million deal runs until the end of 2026, covering both rights and production.
EDIT
Seven in talks for Super Netball as parent body eyes free to air return for next rights cycle
The Seven Network has emerged as a genuine suitor for Netball Australia in its drive to return Super Netball to free to air television in the next broadcast cycle.
And NA will enter talks with better bargaining power than ever before after a commercial arrangement with World Netball which allows it to bundle rights for the upcoming World Cup into the next broadcast deal.
Code Sports understands Seven is in talks with NA, and while a source with knowledge of the negotiations said they had not yet progressed to financial positions, discussions had been well received from both sides.
A changed landscape for broadcast deals across the entire sporting spectrum - including for men’s sport - was initially thought to have made NA’s job harder but the body has come up with a strong bargaining chip in the form of commercial rights to the 2027 World Cup in Sydney.
Being able to leverage a local World Cup as part of any ongoing deal will be the job of media rights executive and NA adviser Steph Beltrame, who is handling negotiations for the 2027 cycle.
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As I mentioned before. 7 can definitely partner with Fox to show 1 game a week. Maybe even 2 on FTA
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A 1pm AEST Sunday afternoon Super Netball game on the main channel ahead of the AFL (with perhaps a second game afterwards on 7mate or 7Two) could work well for both Seven and Netball Australia.
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I can see it. With 7 showing the netball on Saturday on the Main channel.
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