Netball Australia has entered a five-year broadcasting deal with Telstra and the Nine Network, which will see live streaming of all games, two live free-to-air television games a week, and delayed television for all games from the 2017 season.Under the agreement, 60 games will be played in Australia’s new national netball league season from February, with two live games and two delayed games to be played as a prime-time Saturday night double-header on the Nine Network.
The remaining two live games will be available on Telstra TV, with all games to be broadcast live through the Telstra Netball Live app.
Telstra will also become the official telecommunications and technology partner of Netball Australia and the new league.
“Australians love sport and love having access to the best live entertainment at home or on the go, and we are very proud to continue delivering world-class entertainment experiences for all Australians to enjoy,” Telstra media executive director Michele Garra commented.
Garra pointed to the growing popularity of footy apps.
“Last weekend our AFL and NRL apps delivered over 2.2 million live streams, and we have no doubt that netball fans will be similarly enthusiastic about keeping up with all the action of their favourite sport, as it happens,” she stated.
“We are also very excited about broadcasting two live netball games per week into Australian homes using Telstra TV.
“Our customers have embraced streaming entertainment at home and we are seeing terrific growth in the number of Telstra TVs out in market. By the end of June, we expect to have more than 200,000 devices in our customers’ homes, and it’s very exciting that we can now give them live viewing of a leading Australian sport straight to their television.”
Telstra stated that pricing and package details for the Netball Live app will be available closer to the launch of the season.
