Telstra has announced a new five-year partnership with Netball Australia, giving all fans the ability to watch every game live on their mobile.
From 2017, netball viewers will also be able to watch four of the new league’s games live on television, with Telstra acquiring the exclusive rights to broadcast two games every week through Telstra TV.
Telstra will also become the official telecommunications and technology partner of Netball Australia and the new national netball league, giving netball fans more access to the games and a range of experiences than ever before.
As part of their wider partnership, Telstra and Netball Australia will also offer customers exclusive ticket deals through the Telstra Thanks program.
Michele Garra, executive director Telstra Media, said Telstra has a proud history of supporting Australian sport and integrating it with great content experiences.
“Australians love sport and love having access to the best live entertainment at home or on the go and we are very proud to continue delivering world class entertainment experiences for all Australians to enjoy,” Garra said.
“Telstra is the home of live sport on mobile and we are delighted to add Australia’s leading women’s sport, using the Telstra Netball Live App, to our other popular sporting apps.”
Watching live sport on mobile is already ingrained in the viewing habits of sports lovers and strong trends in established markets like the United States show it is the future of content consumption. Research from the Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg indicates more than 50 percent of American Gen X, Y and Z sports fans are accessing sports content on a mobile phone.
Garra said the growing popularity of its established footy apps shows Australia is quickly catching up when it comes to fans demanding live sport action on mobile.
“Last weekend our AFL and NRL apps delivered over 2.2 million live streams and we have no doubt that netball fans will be similarly enthusiastic about keeping up with all the action of their favourite sport, as it happens,” Garra said.
“We are also very excited about broadcasting two live netball games per week into Australian homes using Telstra TV.
“Our customers have embraced streaming entertainment at home and we are seeing terrific growth in the number of Telstra TVs out in market. By the end of June, we expect to have more than 200,000 devices in our customers’ homes and it’s very exciting that we can now give them live viewing of a leading Australian sport straight to their television.”
Pricing and package details for the Telstra Netball Live App will be available closer to launch of the 2017 Netball season.
