Nine locks in Premier League rights through to 2034
Nine Entertainment Co. (ASX: NEC) has announced a six-year extension of its Australian streaming and broadcast rights for the Premier League, covering the 2028-29 to 2033-34 seasons. The extension builds on the existing rights deal Nine acquired from Optus in 2025.
Chief Executive Officer Matt Stanton has described the Premier League as a “game-changer” for the business, with the sport sitting at the heart of Nine’s premium content and Stan Sport strategy.
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
What the deal covers
The agreement grants Nine all Australian streaming and broadcast rights for the Premier League, encompassing both subscription and free-to-air distribution. Stan Sport is the intended primary home for the content, with Nine’s broader broadcast, media, and outdoor assets to be used for promotion and audience growth.
Key deal parameters include:
- Rights type: All Australian streaming and broadcast rights (subscription and free)
- Duration: Six seasons (2028-29 to 2033-34)
- Match volume: 10 matches per week across 38 match weeks (41 calendar weeks)
- Primary platform: Stan Sport
The financial terms — what investors need to know
The FY29 rights fee is expected to be broadly in line with FY28, before scaling across the six-year period. Across the full duration of the contract, this equates to approximately 3% CAGR, measured from the end of the current deal to the end of the new deal.
A key change in cost structure stems from the 2025 Optus acquisition. The Optus contributions have been payable since Nine acquired the rights from Optus in 2025, and it is their future absence under the new deal that will increase the cost to Stan. However, Nine expects this increased cost to be offset by two identified factors: the removal of the subscription discount previously applied to legacy Optus subscribers, and other cost-saving and revenue initiatives.
The financial impact of the extension is therefore framed as manageable and anticipated, rather than an unforeseen cost pressure, with the offsets specifically identified in the announcement.
Why Premier League has been a growth engine for Stan
Stan Sport is Nine’s subscription sport streaming service, operating as part of the broader Stan platform within the Nine ecosystem. It serves as the primary home for Nine’s premium live sport rights, targeting audiences willing to pay for high-quality, exclusive sporting content.
The commercial impact of Premier League rights on Stan’s performance has been material. Stan’s EBITDA more than doubled from $40 million in FY21 to $81 million in FY26, a period during which premium sport, and Premier League specifically, was a central driver of growth.
Stan’s FY26 performance extended this trajectory further, with record revenue of $569 million and EBITDA of $80.6 million representing 34% growth, alongside 2.3 million paying subscribers and a new advertising tier set to launch from August 2026.
| Metric | FY21 | FY26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stan EBITDA | $40m | $81m | >100% growth |
Premier League has been specifically cited as a key driver of 50% growth in average Sport subscribers over the past 12 months. The deal with Optus Sport also supported a $5 per month increase in Sport subscription rates in August 2025, demonstrating the commercial leverage the rights provide beyond audience metrics alone.
A premium sport portfolio built for the long term
Matt Stanton, CEO, Nine Entertainment Co.
“Football is the ultimate global game, followed with remarkable intensity by millions of fans across Australia. Bringing the Premier League to Stan has been a genuine game-changer for our business, and we are very pleased to be extending the partnership for another 8 years. It sits at the heart of our strategy of premium content, particularly Sport that Unites…”
The Premier League extension sits alongside a broad portfolio of premium live sport rights at Nine. The full portfolio, as stated in the announcement, includes:
The Premier League extension sits alongside an equally significant domestic sports deal: Nine’s NRL and NRLW broadcast rights are also locked in through 2034 at $145 million per annum, extending a rugby league partnership now entering its fourth decade and securing State of Origin and the Grand Final exclusively on Channel 9 and 9Now.
- NRL and NRLW
- All four Tennis Grand Slams
- Olympic Games
- Rugby Union
- NBL and WNBL
- Netball
- Premier League (extended through to the 2033-34 season)
Collectively, these partnerships reflect Nine’s stated long-term strategy of investing in premium live sport, providing Stan Sport and the broader Nine business with content certainty across multiple major properties.
What this deal means for NEC shareholders
The six-year Premier League extension carries several implications for investors assessing Nine’s content and earnings outlook:
- Content certainty: Stan Sport’s flagship product is secured through the 2033-34 season, providing long-term programming stability
- Manageable cost escalation: The approximately 3% CAGR in rights fees is a known and gradual increase, with identified offsets from legacy Optus subscriber discount removal and other initiatives
- Demonstrated commercial value: Premier League has been directly linked to a doubling of Stan EBITDA since FY21 and 50% subscriber growth over the past 12 months
- Competitive differentiation: Exclusive Australian rights to one of the world’s most-watched football competitions strengthens Nine’s position in the Australian streaming market
The extension anchors Premier League as a long-term pillar of Nine’s premium sport strategy, reinforcing the content foundation on which Stan’s subscriber and earnings growth has been built.
Don’t Miss the Next Big Media and Entertainment Move
Big News Blast, StockWire X’s FREE alert service, delivers breaking ASX announcements straight to your inbox within minutes of release, complete with in-depth analysis already done. Join 20,000+ investors who stay ahead of the market the moment news breaks. Click the “Free Alerts” button to start receiving alerts today.