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ine Entertainment is reportedly the front-runner in NBL broadcast deal discussions, with The Australian reporting Nine is prepared to offer $20 million annually.
The move is in an effort to further boost the new OTT platform, Stan Sport, which secured Rugby Australia broadcast rights in a $100 million, three-year deal that will see Stan Sport broadcast all Super Rugby AU, Super W, and Super Rugby Aotearoa matches, as well as every Wallaroos Test, The Rugby Championship, and The Bledisloe Cup.
The platform, which recently revealed its subscription price point of $10 a month, which is only accessible with a subscription to Stan’s main service, which is also $10 a month, followed the Rugby Australia broadcast deal with the broadcast rights for Wimbledon and the French Open.
With Nine now reportedly targeting NBL broadcast rights, the Stan Sport product could be soon filled with top sports broadcast rights as it hopes to rival similar OTT platforms such as Foxtel’s Kayo and Optus’s Optus Sport.
Nine previously held the broadcast rights to the NBL in August 2018 in what was originally a three-year deal, before handing the rights over to SBS and ESPN in 2019.
The NBL’s contract with SBS and ESPN for broadcast rights is due to expire at the close of the 2021 NBL season, which recently began despite postponements related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oz reported Foxtel and its Kayo platform are considering making a bid for the NBL rights but maintains that Nine and Stan Sport remain the front-runner in broadcast discussions, with a fee of $20 million per year being floated.
If a $20 million a year fee is agreed, the broadcast partnership will become the most lucrative contract in the league’s history.
The reports emerged following the NBL’s announcement of a multi-year partnership with Sportradar, with the sports entertainment and data company becoming the league’s international media distributor and OTT partner.
