Nine has announced that it will be showing every one of the 48 NRLW games live and free on the 9Network and on 9Now.
The network will deliver more than 100 hours of live coverage as well as a magazine show and a podcast. The competition has been newly expanded with four new teams, the Cronulla Sharks, Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers, joining the 11-week tournament.
The 2023 broadcast schedule features four Saturday triple-headers, regular Sunday double-headers leading into NRL Sunday Footy, three prime-time games on Channel 9HD, and two stand-alone Thursday night games during the 2023 NRL finals series.
From the first week of August, there will be nine weekly free-to-air games across the NRL and NRLW. The commentary team includes former Jillaroos Ruan Sims and Allana Ferguson, hosts Emma Lawrence and Danika Mason, defending NRLW premiership captain Millie Boyle along with support from the entire Wide World of Sports rugby league team.
The network also said that there will be “new announcements in the coming weeks.”
NRL CEO, Andrew Abdo, said: “In 2023, there will be new rivalries and new timeslots with every match being broadcast on the 9Network nationally and primetime coverage for the first time ever.”
Nine’s Wide World of Sports will also broadcast a dedicated weekly women’s rugby league show on Channel 9 and 9Now, plus a weekly NRLW podcast.
Head of hartnerships and strategy at Nine’s Wide World of Sports, Simon Fordham, said: “In partnership with the NRL we are dedicated to growing the women’s game, and what better way to do that than making every game of the NRLW available live and free to existing and new fans across the country.
“The new broadcast agreement for the expanding NRLW competition required all stakeholders to unite and make decisions based on the growth of the sport. We look forward to showcasing the talents of these incredibly gifted athletes on Nine in what has become the most entertaining women’s football code in the nation.”
Nine won the rights to the NRL and NRLW in 2020, securing a deal that covered it from the current 2023 season through until 2027 following months of consternation about the deal.
