It’s not the EPL but it sure as hell is one of the biggest sports in Australia. At the grass-roots level Netball challenges Soccer for the highest participation rate and the new National Netball League will be the pinnacle of the sport and today Telstra and Nine joined to sign a five-year partnership to bring that event to Australians.
Just as they are with the NRL and AFL, Telstra will be a key partner to Netball Australia, but perhaps more critically will stream games live on Telstra TV exclusively.
This is yet another shift to IPTV or Internet TV for sport, and while it’s not the NRL or AFL it sure does help form a picture of the future for live sport.
The deal also gives Telstra a bunch of other things including ticket options for their “Telstra Thanks” program and other new content experiences.
Importantly, through the involvement of the Nine Network the new broadcast deal ensures live free-to-air television for two games a week and live streaming and delayed television for all games from the 2017 season.
Kate Palmer, Chief Executive of Netball Australia, said “This is the most significant broadcasting rights agreement in the history of Australian women’s sport.
“It is truly transformative,” she said. “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.”
According to Netball Australia – under the broadcasting agreement:
As part of their announcement, Telstra also revealed they will have more than 200,000 Telstra TV devices in homes across Australia by June, a staggering amount of potential for Netball, but also for those streaming services on the box such as Stan, Presto and Netflix.
No pricing or package information from Telstra is available yet, and while the Netball deal talks highly of the “Free to air coverage on the Nine Network” it should be clear that there’s not guarantee, or frankly likelihood, that will be on the main channel. Expect to see Netball on 9life perhaps – the perfect demographic fit?
Feature Image: Laura Hale
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM, Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.
Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.
First, I need to give a shoutout to my sister. She told Trevor no to…
Last year, we reviewed the AAWireless Two and were impressed with how compact it was…
Fans of Belgian cartoonist Hergé’s creation, the intrepid reporter Tinitin, will be pleased to see…
The world's leader in wet and dry floor cleaners, Tineco has announced its own March…
After taking over as the Official Watch brand of F1 last year, the return of…
We've been fans of espresso Displays for years now, firstly because who wouldn't want to…