Rugby Australia (RA) recently announced a mouthwatering five-year extension to its broadcast rights deal with Nine Entertainment. This deal cements their partnership in perpetuity, with their current contract extending through 2030! The merger is pegged at A$240 million. Beyond the financial impact, it will play a crucial role in raising the profile of rugby within Australia by broadcasting a mix of key competitions and matches.
This new deal, covering 2026-2030, comes after a two-year extension that Nine Entertainment signed in 2023. Especially interesting is that the agreement involves exclusive rights to the men’s Nations Championship, starting in 2025. This championship should bring significant viewership and buzz as some of the best international teams face off against one another in exciting, competitive matchups.
Comprehensive Coverage of Rugby Competitions
The IXN broadcast agreement includes non-televised matches. It comprises men’s games with the Wallabies and women’s games with the Wallaroos and is scheduled to last until 2030. Beyond the Nations Championship, it addresses club competition within the states including the Shute Shield and the Hospital Cup. This means that rugby fans have a wealth of different types of events to be excited for.
Since 2020, Nine Entertainment has been airing Wallabies tests and Super Rugby on its free-to-air network. Fans can watch all the action through the subscription streaming service Stan. From the new agreement onwards, all Super Rugby Pacific games will be available only behind Stan’s paywall. Until last year, only one match per round was even shown on free-to-air television, that being a Saturday night match.
This strategic pivot is intended to increase the number of subscriptions sold, while continuing to deliver meaningful coverage to fans across important competitions.
Performance-Based Incentives
The new deal is notable not just for its size, but for an innovative twist that incorporates performance-related incentives. The Wallabies are, at the time of writing, eighth in the world. They do that with a better win/loss percentage and a future cash bonus of millions of dollars becomes possible! In 2024, with new head coach Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies excelled with a record six wins from thirteen tests. That was a massive turnaround from 2023, when they won just two of nine tests with Eddie Jones in charge.
Phil Waugh, the new CEO of Rugby Australia, said it was an ‘exciting time’ to be involved in Australian rugby. He stated, “The future of Australian rugby is bright and our growth trajectory is strong.” He further emphasized that “this deal from 2026 through 2030 will ensure Australian Rugby is well supported from the grassroots through to the international level for men and women, boys and girls.”
A Positive Step for Rugby Australia
This deal is a significant upgrade from Rugby Australia’s existing media rights deal. This isn’t just PR fluff— it’s an indication of the successful organizational reset that happened in the 2024 cycle. Rugby in Australia is going through a massive renaissance. Both Rugby Australia and Nine Entertainment are committed to increasing the game’s exposure from grassroots through to elite competition.
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