Australian streaming platform Stan will enter the world of live sports broadcasting from 2021, thanks to a brand new deal with Rugby Australia and some pretty hefty hopes for the future.
Stan Sport will debut with extensive rights to Aussie rugby union, and will broadcast all Wallabies test matches played at home or in New Zealand. On top of that, punters can expect to stream Super Rugby, Super W, and any number of other big contests.
On top of that, the deal will see select Super Rugby arrive on free-to-air telly for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The overall broadcast rights are reportedly worth around $100m, and Nine has locked ’em in for three years.
In a statement, Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke rolled out the claim that a “fantasy has become a reality for the Australian Rugby community.
“This is a landmark deal that includes everything in the showbag, and it gives more Australians more access to more Rugby than ever before,” he said.
Clarke pointed to the deal being a part of rugby’s “exciting future”. Given the recent dramas involving the code, you can forgive them for wanting to focus on new opportunities and fresh audiences.
Stan Sport will reportedly be offered in a bundle deal for subscribers.
Folks from Nine’s existing sports broadcasting apparatus, Wide World of Sports, will also lend their expertise to the new offering.
It’s a significant play from Stan, and will see the platform wrestle with Foxtel’s sports streaming option, Kayo, along with competitors in Optus Sport and free-to-air options. (Nine Entertainment Co., which owns Stan, also owns PEDESTRIAN.TV.)
Good news for rugby fans who are already familiar with the Stan ecosystem, then. As for everyone else, the Sydney Morning Herald reports Stan is already working to tie down more sports broadcasting deals to add to its new roster.
There’s very little info on that front – I mean, they only just announced Stan Sport today – but with sporting codes increasingly focused on streaming options, you could reasonably expect some movement there in the months to come.
