Summary:
Foxtel and Nine have retained rights to the NRL and State of Origin for another seven years, with very little to change for Australian viewers through to the end of 2034.
The $5.3bn outlay will see Foxtel retain exclusive rights to five games per week - including its 'Super Saturday' window - with a sixth exclusive game coming once the Perth Bears enter the competition in 2027.
A 20th club is expected to be added to the competition in 2028 or 2029, either from Queensland or New Zealand, which would give Foxtel and Kayo a seventh exclusive match.
Channel Nine have kept exclusive rights to both the NRL Grand Final and the State of Origin series, which will remain a Wednesday night product for now.
NRL CEO Peter V'Landys doesn't believe Monday night games will be added to the fixturing due to the difficulties with a short turnaround for players and clubs.
Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany could not rule out price rises to Kayo Sports subscriptions as a result of their increased investment, instead committing to "affordability" and suggesting that a growth in international NRL viewers through parent streaming company DAZN would be their path to keeping prices low in Australia.
The next step for Peter V'Landys and the ARLC, according to V'Landys himself, is to negotiate a 20th team to enter the NRL competition in 2029 and for a 'Global Round' that would see the opening round of fixtures played across Europe, the USA and Asia, as part of his agenda to globalise rugby league.
1:05pm AEST:
The press conference at Rugby League Central has concluded, with V'Landys urging everyone to watch Game 3 of the State of Origin this week as they look to drive viewership above 4.5 million.
1:00pm AEST:
V'Landys laid out his future goals for the code and particularly the ARLC, wanting to increase the NRL's assets from a current estimation of $400 million to $1 billion and proceeding with the proposed 'Global Round' which would expand the current Las Vegas venture to other corners of the globe.
"We've got one and only one chance to globalise the game, and we're going to do it.
"Who says that in 2050 there can't be an NRL team in Europe or the USA with all the advances in travel and technology?
"If you sit back and do nothing, you'll perish. If you embrace everything that is coming towards you, you'll be successful. We're going to make sure we're a global game and not a Pacific one."
12:55pm AEST:
Peter V'Landys says the State of Origin will remain on Wednesday nights, and the Grand Final will be a Sunday night match, unless Channel Nine agree to any changes.
"When you take the money, you have to deliver a product ... Wednesday nights are very important to Nine," V'Landys explained.
He did not rule out the State of Origin moving to a pre-season or end-of-season window, but said the games will remain on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future.
12:50pm AEST:
Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany believes the $5bn outlay by DAZN will be seen as "inexpensive" by the end of the next broadcast deal due to expected growth in their subscriber base.
Pressed again on the need for Foxtel to raise Kayo prices to make up for their increased investment, Delany says he wants to prioritise "volume".
V'Landys adds that the growth of the NRL in countries outside Australia through DAZN will help keep subscription prices down in Australia, noting that NRL viewership in the USA has almost doubled since the league began its Las Vegas opening round venture.
"We haven't even touched England. There are 750,000 Australians in London who are potential customers for our sport."
"I assure the price point will be protected. All I know is that DAZN is a brilliant partner and they honour their word.
"I need to drive volume for them, and that's what I'm going to do. I need to do things that help them keep the price where it is."
12:45pm AEST:
V'Landys was asked if the ARLC knew when the additional ninth game of each NRL round will be played:
"I don't think Monday night is an option at this stage, because of player turnaround. We'll work with Nine and DAZN in the next few weeks to work out a time."
He also added that the ARLC retaining control of the NRL fixturing was also a sticking point between the Commission and broadcasters, with "90%" of the negotiations being about the final price.
V'Landys noted that the 20th team is likely to come in for the start of the 2029 season and "could" be from either New Zealand or Queensland. The contribution from Sky New Zealand has increased significantly with their NRL viewership tripling in the last five years.
12:40pm AEST:
V'Landys says the affordability of the game for all rugby league fans was an important part of the negotiating process and has assured that DAZN has committed to keeping subscription prices affordable.
Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany was asked if Kayo prices will rise in response to the increase in broadcast rights spending: "We are completely aligned (with the NRL) on making sure it is affordable.
"We'll be making sure we don't outprice ourselves.
"The entry level price of Kayo has risen only once in nine years and our goal is to keep it affordable."
V'Landys says the negotiating process was not completed until "late last night", praising Amazon for their offer and their conduct during the negotiations.
12:35pm AEST:
Foxtel boss Patrick Delany is excited about Foxtel gaining more exclusivity, with the potential addition of a 20th NRL team meaning Foxtel would have exclusive rights to seven of the ten games in each round.
He says DAZN has a strategy to add the NRL to its international product which is available in more than 200 countries and territories across the world.
"It's important for us to be the only free-to-air partner," the Nine representative adds.
"We're absolutely delighted to retain the rights (to the Grand Final and State of Origin)."
12:30pm AEST:
V'Landys says that the next media rights deal will be worth $5.3 billion - 95% in cash. V'Landys describes it as a 90% uplift in cash, with the previous deal having 10% contra.
Foxtel will have exclusive rights to five of eight games each week.
He adds that the global subscriber base of Foxtel's parent company, DAZN, played a big role in the current deal.
"Part of the deal with DAZN has been that rugby league will be marketed to (their) 400 million subscribers," V'Landys told reporters.
"This is not just about growing it in Australia, but growing it internationally.
"We believe the 5.3 (billion) will increase substantially once we pursue our global ambitions."
12:25pm AEST:
Peter V'Landys and Andrew Abdo are already at the media conference desk at Rugby League Central in Sydney. Stand by for confirmation. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany is also at the press conference. V'Landys is looking understandably relaxed.
12:20pm AEST:
A continuation of the Foxtel-Nine partnership would be somewhat of a surprise given the two engaged in a fierce bidding war that would have ultimately excluded one another from the final product.
Nine were seeking an all-encompassing exclusivity that would have seen all matches shifted onto their streaming platform, Stan Sports, with a limited number of free-to-air games shown on Nine to entice their viewers to take up a subscription.
In response, Foxtel reportedly sought to shut out Nine completely by approaching Seven to take on the free-to-air portion of the programming required by Australia's anti-siphoning list, which protects the Grand Final and State of Origin from being locked behind a paywall.
Foxtel have been a rugby league broadcaster since the beginning of the Super League war in 1997, when News Corp launched a rebel league in response to an unsuccessful bid to purchase rights to the then-ARL competition.
12:15pm AEST:
If recent reporting is accurate, very little will change for rugby league viewers in Australia.
Foxtel/Kayo Sports and Channel Nine (and Sky Sports in New Zealand) have reportedly won a $5.3 billion extension of broadcast rights through to the end of 2034, although Nine did not get it all their way, with their subsidiary streaming service Stan Sports not getting a seat at the table.
The new deal is expected to see Foxtel retain exclusive rights to Saturday NRL games and Nine keep exclusive rights to the State of Origin and the Grand Final.
The deal could also include a clause that requires the ARLC to bring a 20th team, most likely one from New Zealand, into the competition by the 2030 season.
If the $5bn+ figure is confirmed, it would be the first time in history that the NRL broadcast deal is more valuable than that of its rival competition, the AFL, which is into the second year of a seven-year agreement with the Seven Network and Foxtel/Kayo Sports worth $4.5 billion.
That would be a landmark milestone for Australian rugby league and particularly for V'Landys and Abdo, whose legacy is set to be one of unprecedented growth and expansion.
12:10pm AEST:
What do we know already ahead of this announcement?
We know the NRL have been immensely keen to wrap up a new broadcast deal before ARLC CEO Andrew Abdo departs his role on July 15, not least because his fellow head Peter V'Landys is going to be filling both roles on an interim basis whilst they look for a permanent replacement - which could be V'Landys himself.
We also know that the current broadcast deal expires at the end of 2027 and was worth in excess of $400m per annum to the sport of rugby league.
There was an intense bidding war that also included the Seven Network and Amazon Prime Video, both of whom were seeking exclusive rights to one weekly timeslot (such as a 'Monday Night Football' product) instead of overarching rights.
12:00pm AEST:
Welcome to our live coverage of the ARLC's historic media rights announcement, during which the NRL's broadcasters for the next several years will be revealed.
The highly anticipated agreement was signed off in recent days, and has been filtering through the media in bits and pieces, with all to be confirmed in coming minutes.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
