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- Nine Entertainment is reportedly in advanced negotiations over a six-year Premier League rights deal worth close to AUD$860 million.
- The agreement would begin with the 2028–29 season and keep every match on Stan Sport through 2034.
- No deal has been announced, and its impact on Stan Sport pricing, free-to-air coverage and Nine’s wider football rights remains unresolved.
Stan Sport became the home of the Premier League when Optus decided it no longer wanted to pay the price. Nine now appears ready to spend close to AUD$860 million to make sure it stays there.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Nine is in advanced negotiations for a six-year extension worth USD$90–$100 million annually. The proposed agreement would begin in 2028–29, once the existing rights cycle expires, and keep the Premier League on Stan Sport through the end of the 2033–34 season. Nine is reportedly the only broadcaster still in contention, although neither Nine nor the Premier League has confirmed a deal.
For football fans, that could mean six years of welcome stability. The catch is that nobody yet knows what that stability will cost. Stan Sport already requires a base Stan subscription plus a $20 monthly sports add-on, and Nine has not said whether the reported deal would push that price higher or put selected matches on free-to-air TV.
Nine’s Reported Premier League Deal
The reported annual fee would sit close to Nine’s AUD$145 million cash contribution under its new NRL agreement, although comparing the two is kinda like comparing apples with oranges. Nine’s NRL rights cover a completely different mix of matches, finals and free-to-air broadcasts, while the Premier League agreement would include every fixture across a 38-round season.
The number starts to make a little more sense when you look at Stan’s subscriber growth. Nine said the Premier League primarily drove a 40 per cent increase in average Stan Sport subscribers over the first half of the 2026 financial year. Stan currently streams every Premier League match live and on demand, alongside the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and FA Cup.
That is a fairly compelling football package. It is also an expensive one.
Optus Sport already proved that owning the Premier League and making money from it are not necessarily the same thing. Documents cited by the AFR showed that the service generated AUD$80.3 million in direct subscriber revenue during the 2024 financial year while carrying rights costs above AUD$130 million and posting a loss of AUD$102.3 million.
Nine is not Optus. It has a broader streaming platform, free-to-air television, advertising inventory and a much larger sports operation to spread the cost across. Even then, there is no guarantee the numbers work. The Premier League might be one of the best subscriber magnets in sport, but magnets are not usually this expensive.
What Could It Mean For Stan Sport Subscribers?
A six-year extension would remove the immediate risk of the Premier League moving to another Australian broadcaster. It could also give Nine the option of showing selected matches across Channel Nine or 9Now, although those distribution details remain unresolved.
The other question is what happens to Stan’s wider football package. Nine’s current UEFA rights expire after the 2026–27 season, one year before the proposed Premier League extension would begin. Stan could emerge as Australia‘s long-term home of club football, or the Premier League could become the very expensive centrepiece holding a smaller package together.
Either way, Nine appears convinced the competition is worth paying for. Football fans may appreciate knowing where the Premier League will live until 2034. They still need to know what the bill will look like.
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