The Netball New Zealand and Netball Australia national governing bodies, which organise the ANZ Championship, are in talks over a rights deal that would ensure every game of the club competition is shown on Australian television for the first time, according to the NZ Newswire news agency.
Netball New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle said that the governing bodies are negotiating with “three partners who are very positive about netball and the value it can bring to their networks” after the previous domestic rights deal with Australian commercial broadcaster Network Ten was not renewed.
Castle added: “We’ve now got people who see the value of netball, are respectful of the product and the people involved in it.”
A deal is expected to be announced ahead of the start of the 2013 season in March.
All of the championship’s games are already broadcast in New Zealand on pay-television broadcaster Sky TV, which has rights for the competition and New Zealand national team games as part of a four-year deal, from 2012 to 2015.