England Netball has secured a major boost to visibility via agreements with two of the UK’s biggest sports media outlets, Sky Sports and BBC Sport, covering the Netball Super League (NSL).
One live match a week will be broadcast via BBC iPlayer,on the BBC Sport website and app under the terms of the two year deal, with the 2024 season set to commence on 17 February.
The UK public broadcaster’s coverage will begin one week later on 24 February with coverage of 2023 defending champions Loughborough Lighting’s fixture against Team Bath.
Philip Bernie, Interim Director BBC Sport, said: “Our live netball coverage has become increasingly popular with audiences, and now they can follow the excitement of weekly NSL matches—free, live, and on demand—all season long.
“Following the success of the 2023 Netball World Cup final, which had an audience of 1.3m on the BBC, fans can now enjoy more live coverage as we keep delivering all the action of the game to a bigger audience.”
The agreement marks a continuation of the BBC’s association with netball in the UK since the sport made its Commonwealth Games debut in 1998.
BBC Sport also covered the 2017 the 2023 Netball World Cups, with the latter event seeing the England team make it to the final against Australia in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the three-year renewal with Sky will retain the pay-TV broadcaster as its primary broadcast partner, with the duo having last put pen to paper back in 2021.
All NSL games form the Season Opener to the Grand Final, including the semi-final play-offs, will be covered on Sky Sports, with an additional game from each regular round shown on the broadcaster’s YouTube channel.
Helen Falkus, Director of Multi Sports at Sky Sports, remarked : “Since 2006, Sky Sports has had a longstanding partnership with netball, and we are thrilled to reaffirm our commitment to the sport through a renewed three-year partnership.
“The sport’s popularity has surged in recent years, and with the landscape of the sport’s viewing patterns continuing to evolve, this deal highlights our commitment to meeting our fans where they are, with NSL coverage shown on YouTube.”
Netball is a popular participant sport in the UK at an amateur level, particularly at universities, with the number of people playing the sport each year estimated at between 280,000 and 290,000.
NSL Managing Director, Claire Nelson, said: “This is a hugely important milestone that enables us to showcase our sport to a bigger audience than ever before and is an incredible opportunity for the League, our clubs and our players to satisfy the appetite that we know is there.
“As we journey to professionalisation, we remain completely committed to delivering innovation in terms of how fans consume and experience netball, and now with BBC Sport joining Sky Sports as our trusted partners, we’re not only unlocking unprecedented visibility for the League but also continuing to ensure that netball remains at the forefront of innovative sports broadcasting.”
