The NBL26 season has been full of surprises and excitement, following one of the biggest and best off-seasons in league history. That momentum has carried into the regular season, with the NBL announcing a 20% increase in viewership for regular-season games on ESPN’s primary platforms – reinforcing its position as Australia’s fastest-growing sport.

NBL Group CEO David Stevenson said, “These numbers are a testament to the growth and strength of our League and the growing number of people falling in love with elite basketball in Australia and New Zealand.”

A major factor in attracting new fans has been the league’s free-to-air presence, with two dedicated Sunday time slots at 2:30pm (AEDT) and 4:30pm (AEDT). The 2:30pm game is up 49 per cent in average audience, while the 4:30pm game is up 33 per cent.

The surge across both major broadcast partners reflects the league’s broader growth domestically and internationally.

“The consistency of our broadcast schedule from Wednesday through to Sunday, the success of new initiatives like the Ignite Cup, and the added intrigue brought about by marquee matchups, rivalries and world-class players are all contributing to this sustained momentum,” Stevenson said.

He continued, “This phenomenal growth underlines the value we continue to deliver our fans and partners, and we’re incredibly grateful for the support of ESPN, Network 10, all NBL clubs, our players and our commercial partners.

Together, we are elevating the NBL on every platform, and we remain focused on delivering a premium, consistent and enjoyable experience for fans. The signs are incredibly positive – we’re reaching more fans, they’re watching for longer, and the NBL continues to take giant strides forward in Australia and around the world.”

With half the season still to play and one of the biggest playoff runs in NBL history looming, one thing is clear: global eyes are locked on the NBL. The league continues to grow from strength to strength, and these latest numbers are yet another powerful testament to its rise.

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‘Phenomenal’ rise in numbers; new twist threatens ex-NBA star’s comeback bid — NBL Daily

‘Phenomenal’ rise in numbers; new twist threatens ex-NBA star’s comeback bid — NBL Daily

www.foxsports.com.au

The owner of Foxtel, the AFL’s major broadcast partner, believes it is paying too much for the rights following its decision to pull the plug on a second domestic soccer deal in Europe over financial concerns.

Two senior media industry sources, who requested anonymity to discuss contractual matters, said Foxtel’s British owner, sports streaming giant DAZN, felt it was over-paying for a domestic product with limited scope for subscription growth, and could seek to claw back money from the agreement.
An advertisement for Kayo Sports promoting its exclusive AFL coverage on Fox Footy on Saturdays.

DAZN, which bought Foxtel for an enterprise value of $3.4 billion last December, inherited the AFL rights for which Seven and Foxtel paid a combined $4.5 billion over seven years, to 2031. Previous reports put Foxtel’s contribution at about $418 million a year, or almost $3 billion in total.

Five senior sports industry sources said it was widely accepted that Foxtel had been pushed to its upper limits after a massive offer from Paramount that would have yielded $6 billion over 10 years.

AFL lawyer and media executive Jeff Browne, also the ex-Collingwood president, has been briefed on DAZN’s position, according to two other media sources.

But Browne said he had not been approached to represent DAZN’s interests in potential talks with the league.
Former Collingwood president Jeff Browne.

Browne was recently a contender to succeed Richard Goyder as chair of the AFL Commission, but withdrew his candidacy. The commission last month endorsed former Geelong president Craig Drummond to step into the role when Goyder leaves in March.

DAZN this week terminated an €83 million-a-season ($148 million) deal with the Belgian Pro-League, less than 12 months after its agreement with the French Ligue 1 collapsed.

DAZN had been unable to find distribution channels for its Belgian coverage.

“No company should be forced to operate at a loss,” DAZN Belgium managing director Massimo D’Amario said in a statement. “That’s simply not a sustainable business.”

The streaming company had previously tried to renegotiate the French contract, which was worth €400 million a year for six years, after disappointing subscription numbers and issues with piracy.

A Foxtel Group spokesperson did not address specific questions from this masthead on whether the company would try to renegotiate the AFL deal, and referred questions about DAZN to the UK company.

“The AFL has been a valued broadcast partner of Foxtel Group for more than 25 years. The 2025 season marked the beginning of a new era in our partnership and delivered our highest-ever season viewership,” the spokesperson said.

“There have been no discussions on changes to our contract with the AFL, and we look forward to delivering live, 4K coverage of every game, of every round for many years to come.”

The 2025 season was the first in the new AFL media deal.

The NRL’s $1.7 billion agreement with Foxtel and Nine, owner of this masthead, expires in 2027.

DAZN is backed by British-Ukrainian billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik.

Last month Blavatnik injected $891 million into DAZN, after the company posted a substantial financial loss. His company, Access Industries, has invested more than $11 billion into DAZN in the past decade.

Under the new AFL deal, Foxtel and Kayo have exclusive rights to Saturday football in Victoria and use their own commentators for all matches rather than taking the Seven call for games that are on both networks. However, there was a backlash among fans who objected to Saturdays going behind a paywall.
Carlton and Essendon were banished from free-to-air TV in round 24.

There was also frustration about fixturing, particularly after the AFL handed Carlton and Essendon prime-time matches on Thursday and Friday nights despite both teams falling from finals contention.

Seven’s football ratings dwindled towards the end of the home-and-away season – the free-to-air broadcaster elected not to show the round 24 Carlton-Essendon Thursday night dead rubber – but received a significant boost at the start of the finals.
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The AFL last month announced the introduction of a wildcard weekend, which would see two more games added to the fixture; seventh on the ladder would play 10th, and eighth would play ninth.

During the announcement, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the decision to add the wildcard weekend was for the fans.

“Our fans love finals games, so we think it provides opportunities and hope for our fans,” Dillon said.

“Our fans love finals and they love games of consequence.

“We know those games are the best-attended and most-watched on television.”
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Adding two more high-profile games will help Seven, which can sell advertising around them, but the extra content does not necessarily translate into more subscriptions for Foxtel.

Two sources who were part of negotiations for the AFL deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions, said Foxtel executives had been under pressure to ink the agreement before taking Foxtel to market for sale, which had meant the league had additional leverage.

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patjennings said:

The question is how many people who currently only watch on FTA are going to start streaming. There is a huge older demographic that get their AFL, NRL and Cricket on FTA. Will they start streaming or just go the the local games. Conversely football is heavily based on streaming. Some exposure on free to air but any football supporter already streams.

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