Nine Entertainment repositioning for digital age but NRL still its big target for sport
Nine Entertainment is seeking to reposition itself as a sports streaming giant in the digital age as it prepares to launch its bid to remain the free-to-air broadcaster of the NRL.
James Madden
and
Steve Jackson
Nine Entertainment is seeking to reposition itself as a sports streaming giant in the digital age as it prepares to launch its bid to renew its status as the free-to-air broadcaster of the NRL, with its streaming platform Stan likely to be a key component of any deal.
But with Nine’s free-to-air business in structural decline, beset by rapidly dwindling advertising revenues and falling audiences, the shift in emphasis to Stan can also be seen as a cost-saving measure.
On Friday, Nine’s head of streaming and broadcasting, Amanda Laing, unveiled the company’s new leadership structure, which will see Stan Sports and Wide World of Sports answer to the same boss for the first time, in a clear sign that the subscription streaming service will assume a greater role in the delivery of live sports broadcasts.
Nine’s statement about its restructure hinted at “efficiencies” – code for job losses – within the company’s sports business, although The Australian was assured the merger of the department’s production staff would not result in any immediate redundancies.
The company’s leadership overhaul comes just six months after Nine restructured its business into three simplified divisions – publishing, streaming and broadcast, and marketplaces – in January, leading to the departure of then Stan chief executive Martin Kugeler and Nine chief marketing officer Liana Dubois.
Not long after, in late March, the board of the Nine-controlled real estate sales platform Domain voted to sell the asset to US property giant CoStar (the deal is expected to be finalised in August), while moves to offload its radio arm in the final quarter of 2025 are also well advanced.
The Australian understands Nine has received four bids for its radio network – which consists of talkback stations 2GB in Sydney, 3AW in Melbourne, 4BC in Brisbane, and 6PR in Perth – with the highest offer so far being in the vicinity of $40m. Nine is holding out for an offer of between $50m and $60m, sources say.
Nine CEO Matt Stanton did not respond to The Australian’s request for an interview last week.
If Nine were to miss out on the NRL rights it would be a devastating blow for the company, which would be left without a claim to any of Australia’s big three sports – AFL, NRL and cricket.
On Sunday, The Australian reported that Nine is this week set to acquire the rights to the English Premier League (which would air on Stan) at a cost of more than $300m over three seasons.
But the NRL is Nine’s main target. The code’s current four-year broadcast deal expires at the end of the 2027 season, and while current shared rights holders Nine and Foxtel (now owned by global sports streamer DAZN) will both be pushing to renew their stake, ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys flagged on the weekend that a third network had expressed interest in competing for the rights.
“Foxtel has a very long close relationship with the NRL and a very strong standing in Australia in terms of P&L and production leadership.
“We will bid on the rights when they come to market, just as we have for the past 20 years,” a spokesperson for Foxtel said on Sunday.
Spokespeople for both Ten and Seven declined to comment on whether they were working on a bid for the NRL rights, which are set to be thrashed out in coming months.
But a Channel 7 source said the network was already committed to its ongoing multibillion-dollar partnership with the rival AFL code and had little to no appetite for rugby league fixtures outside the sports blockbuster showpiece events.
“We might be interested in having a look at a State of Origin game or an international match here or there,” the senior executive said.
“But in terms of week in, week out club matches, it will be a hard pass from us.”
Mr V’landys was also advocating the value of an expanded 19-team NRL competition in 2028, with the addition of both the Perth Bears and a PNG team by then, although the inclusion of those two teams might not necessarily add significant value for broadcasters, and he expressed a desire for the sport’s next TV rights deal to span up to 10 years.
Several industry insiders who spoke with The Australian suggested if a 10-year deal was to be struck with Nine, the NRL would have to take into account the expected growth of subscription streaming services and decline of traditional free-to-air broadcasts.
Ms Laing has already made some small but significant tweaks to Nine’s sports coverage since rejoining the network from Foxtel two months ago as she looks to put rugby league at the centre of the broadcasters’ future strategic direction and ensure it can compete against her former employer.
Notably, she ordered the changing of the on-screen timer on rugby league matches to count down from – rather than up to – 40 minutes in each half.
The move reflects the change made to the timer by Fox Sports for the 2018 season, believing it improved the viewer experience by adding a greater sense of suspense to the game, and bringing it into line with other international sports.
The Australian understands she is also looking to reinvigorate the debate around whether players should have their names and dedicated numbers emblazoned on their jerseys to further increase fan participation
