Australian public-service broadcaster SBS and pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports have acquired rights for the ANZ Championship, the top netball division in Australia and New Zealand.
Under the multi-year deals, all 69 ANZ Championship games, including the finals, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports while the SBS 2 channel will show the ‘match of the round’ live at midday on Sundays as well as the end-of-season finals.
Both broadcasters will also show Australia national team Test matches.
“Netball is the leading women’s sport in the country and we are proud that now all Australians will be able to watch our elite netballers both in the ANZ Championship and in the Test matches on free-to-air television,” SBS managing director Michael Ebeid said. “Netball will also become a cornerstone of our sports offering on our new SBS 2 when it relaunches on April 1 as a bold, provocative channel for younger audiences who want to engage with the sports they love.”
Fox Sports chief executive Patrick Delany added: “Never before have fans been able to watch every ANZ Championship game live until now with Fox Sports broadcasting all 69 games, plus the finals series, live and in high definition.”
Commercial broadcaster Ten had the rights for the championship in a four-year deal, from 2009 to 2012.
The new ANZ Championship season starts on Sunday.