NRL to be shown Australia-wide

The Federal Government today approved the Nine Network’s request to broadcast specific 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership games on digital channel GEM in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and remote Central and Eastern Australia.

In a first for rugby league, the Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy, has removed these matches from the anti-siphoning list. This allows the Nine Network to broadcast 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership matches into the southern markets on digital channel GEM from this Friday, as well as the New Zealand-Australia rugby league test on April 20.

The decision has reinforced the Nine Network’s and Senator Conroy’s commitment to provide viewers access to sport nationally, giving Australians the chance to watch the action as it unfolds.

“This is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders – the viewers in these markets, the NRL, the Federal Government and of course Nine, whose joint mission is to bring the game to as many people as possible,” Jeffrey Browne, Nine Network Managing Director, said.  

“We are particularly grateful for Minister Conroy’s positive and prompt consideration of the network’s application to make it a reality.”           

From round five of the NRL, the southern markets will broadcast two games in Friday Night Football, one live at 7.30pm AEST and the next one at 9.30pm AEST. Then on Sunday afternoon, a third match will go to air at 4.00pm nationally.

The two-hour NRL Sunday Footy Show hosted by Peter Sterling and a panel of rugby league experts, broadcast in Sydney and Brisbane live at 11.00am on Nine, will be shown at 2.00pm on GEM in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania in the lead-up to Sunday Afternoon Football at 4.00pm.