New Australian subscription video-on-demand platform Stan has said it could bid with commercial broadcaster Nine for key sports rights.
Stan is owned by Nine and news agency Fairfax Media. Chief executive Mike Sneesby has indicated that it could seek to enter the sports rights market having studied the rights models employed in other countries.
“There’s nothing technologically or legally that would prevent us from moving in that direction,” Sneesby told The Australian newspaper. “We don’t have any plans to stream sports on the platform, but I wouldn’t rule that out. If you look at Viaplay (the streaming service in the Nordic region), their model is streaming sport with TV and movies and it works.”
Stan’s potential interest comes with negotiations for new rights deals concerning the NRL rugby league and AFL Aussie rules football competitions set to take place simultaneously after the former organisation recently moved its process forward by a year.