Nine Entertainment has extended its Australian Premier League streaming and broadcast rights through the 2033-34 season, securing a major audience driver for Stan Sport. The deal carries an expected rights-fee increase of about 3% a year, while Nine says changes to legacy Optus discounts and other initiatives should offset higher costs.
- Premier League rights secured for six seasons through 2033-34
- Rights fees expected to rise at about 3% annually
- Stan Sport subscribers grew 50% over the past 12 months
- Stan EBITDA increased from $40m in FY21 to $81m in FY26
- Legacy Optus subscriber discounts will be removed
Nine Entertainment Co. (ASX:NEC, Nine) has bought itself six more seasons of one of the most valuable assets in Australian streaming: the Premier League. The agreement covers all Australian subscription and free broadcast rights from 2028-29 to 2033-34, with Stan expected to remain the primary home of the competition.
Premier League rights secured through 2034
The competition runs across 38 match weeks, spread over 41 calendar weeks, with 10 matches each week. Nine says it will use its wider broadcast, media and outdoor assets to promote the sport and grow its audience, rather than treating the rights as a Stan-only proposition.
The financial shape of the agreement is more revealing than the headline term. Nine expects the FY29 rights fee to be broadly in line with FY28, before scaling through the new contract at an approximately 3% compound annual growth rate from the end of the current deal to the end of the new one. The company has not disclosed the absolute fee, subscriber commitments or detailed contract terms.
Stan Sport growth comes with a cost reset
Nine says the Premier League has been central to a 50% increase in average Sport subscribers over the past 12 months. Stan’s EBITDA has more than doubled from $40m in FY21 to $81m in FY26, according to the announcement, giving the rights renewal a clear role in the streaming division’s recent progress.
There is, however, a moving part in the economics. Because Nine acquired the rights from Optus in 2025, the new arrangement will no longer include contributions payable by Optus. That will increase the cost burden on Stan, although Nine expects to offset it by removing the subscription discount for legacy Optus subscribers and pursuing other cost-saving and revenue initiatives. Whether those measures fully protect margins will depend on subscriber retention, pricing and the cost of carrying the rights.
A premium sports portfolio takes shape
Chief executive Matt Stanton described the Premier League as a “game-changer” for Nine and placed the renewal alongside the company’s NRL and NRLW, four tennis Grand Slams, Olympic Games, rugby union, basketball and netball rights. The announcement therefore strengthens Nine’s long-term premium-sport offering, but it also increases the importance of converting large audiences into durable subscription revenue.
One discrepancy remains in the announcement: the formal description specifies six seasons, while Stanton’s quoted remarks refer to “another 8 years”. Nine gives no explanation for the mismatch. The next useful evidence will be operational rather than promotional: how Stan Sport subscribers respond once the legacy discount disappears, and whether the Premier League can continue to support growth without eroding the economics of the service.
Bottom Line?
The renewal removes a major content cliff for Stan Sport, but the investment case now turns on whether subscriber growth and pricing can outrun rising rights costs after the Optus contribution disappears.
Questions in the middle?
- Will removing legacy Optus discounts increase revenue without materially lifting churn?
- Can Stan sustain subscriber growth as the Premier League rights fee compounds at about 3% a year?
- Why does the CEO refer to an eight-year extension when the announcement specifies six seasons?