The newly launched domestic surfing competition, the Surfing Super League (SSL), is already riding a wave of momentum, after it signed an exclusive broadcast agreement with Kayo Sports.
B&T revealed in August that the competition was “in final negotiations with a broadcaster”, and those talks have now washed up on the shores of Kayo.
The partnership that was announced last night at DAZN Media+’s Upfront held at The Cutaway, will see one of the largest volumes of live surfing content ever delivered on Australian television within a short, eight-week competition window, bringing 50 hours of coverage across seven rounds, 14 round-robin games and the grand final, exclusively to Kayo Sports and Binge.
“It is fantastic to be partnering with the Surfing Super League for their inaugural season. Surfing has a passionate following in Australia, and the SSL’s innovative, made-for-TV format, combined with an exceptional line-up of established and emerging talent, sets the platform for unmissable entertainment for viewers,” said Nic Goard, Foxtel Group head of sport and content partnerships.
“Alongside our more than 50 live sports, and as a partner in the growth, we look forward to working together to showcase every moment of this historic season to our audience.”
For the surfing comp, securing a tier-one broadcaster 17 months ahead of the league going live in 2028 represents an audience opportunity for the sport and provides definitive validation of the SSL’s fixed-format commercial model.
Surfing’s reliance on multi-day holding periods and unpredictable swell windows have historically presented challenges with broadcast scheduling. The SSL solves this structural challenge by engineering a fixed-format product designed specifically for linear and digital broadcasting.
Founded by former Red Bull executive and Surfing Australia CEO, Chris Mater, the SSL complements the global surfing calendar, allowing contracted athletes to retain personal sponsors while earning a fixed $89,000 base salary with complete gender pay parity.
The domestic comp is poised to convert Australia’s massive, under-commercialised surfing audience into a scalable sports asset. Research from the Australian National University values recreational surfing’s direct contribution to the national economy at $2.71 billion annually.
However, Surfing Australia revealed that despite having 6.3 million active surfers and 7.3 million fans nationally, the sport currently captures a tiny fraction of the commercial revenue generated by traditional domestic leagues like the NRL or Big Bash League (BBL).
Mater previously told B&T in an interview that the only way that SSL is able to compete with the likes of the NRL and BBL is by locking down a broadcaster.
“I was looking at surfing going every great sport has great television broadcast and partners, and that’s what surfing needs,” he said.
Under the agreement, Kayo Sports platforms will deliver a minimum of 50 hours of total broadcast inventory across the eight-week summer season, including 30 hours of live match coverage and 20 hours of shoulder programming.
This guarantees a content window of live coverage that will air at 4:00pm AEDT every Saturday and Sunday across locked two-hour broadcast blocks. Something Surfing has never done before on Aussie shores.
Every broadcast will also feature a 10-minute pre-game show, a 90-minute live game (comprising two 40-minute halves and a 10-minute half-time), and a 20-minute post-game show.
And to top it all off a 30-minute weekly highlights show will air multiple times each week across Kayo Sports and BINGE.
“Securing Kayo SPORTS as our broadcast partner validates the foundational premise of the Surfing Super League (SSL). Media buyers and investors have always recognised the massive cultural reach of Australian surfing, but the lack of predictable scheduling kept it under-commercialised compared to sports like the NRL or AFL,” said SSL chief marketing officer, Jo-Jo Alpers.
“By engineering a high-stakes, 90-minute team format that fits neatly into broadcast grids at 4:00pm every summer weekend, we’ve created a tentpole media asset. Foxtel, Kayo SPORTS, and BINGE give us the ultimate platform to reach millions of homes, proving to franchise investors, sponsors, and fans that the SSL is built for long-term commercial success.”
In addition to securing its broadcast partner, the SSL has officially opened commercial tenders. Strategic partners and brand sponsors are now invited to secure early positions ahead of the inaugural SSL Team Scouting Combines, scheduled for June, 2027.
The SSL is deliberately constructing a scarce, franchise-based sports-entertainment property with predictable game windows, controlled commercial rights, media value and future ownership liquidity. The long-term investable dual-tier asset is a valuable league and franchise framework.
The SSL is also seeking a minority investor partner who understands the sport investment asset class.
At the Cutaway it was also announced that Foxtel Media has adopted its parent company’s identity, rebranding to DAZN Media+ and Foxtel and Kayo Sports have been folded into the one unified brand of Kayo Sports.
