The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will face off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Seven Network, the Australian commercial network, has secured the ‘exclusive’ free-to-air broadcast rights to the 2026 NFL season, including the American football competition’s first game in the market.
Through the deal, Seven will maintain its widespread NFL coverage through the season, including multiple Sunday night (broadcast Monday in Australia and Thursday Night Football (broadcast Friday in Australia) games each week, as well as coverage of the post-season playoffs and the iconic season-ending Super Bowl.
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Seven will continue to broadcast the NFL on its main Channel 7 linear offering, alongside the 7Plus Sport streaming service.
Naturally, this year’s contract extension centers around the NFL’s match between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on September 11, which Seven will provide “comprehensive” coverage of alongside the remainder of the season.
To this end, Seven has also expanded its weekly ancillary magazine show, NFL Tailgate, to twice a week, broadening the range of its coverage.
Speaking on the announcement, Chris Jones, the director of sport, TV, audio, and streaming at Seven parent Southern Cross Media Group said: “Securing the NFL rights is a huge win for Seven and couldn’t come at a better time. With the first-ever regular season NFL game heading to Melbourne, we’re seeing the incredible momentum the sport has built across Australia.
“Fan interest has never been stronger, and audiences are embracing the league in record numbers. This acquisition delivers a powerful back end to the year of sport, adding another premium global property to an already outstanding sporting calendar.”
The 2026 Super Bowl, which took place back in February, fell year-on-year in terms of viewership on Seven compared to the record spectacle of the 2025 edition, but was still the third most-watched edition of all time, boasting a national reach of 2.02 million, outdrawing even the high-profile State of Origin AFL game.
In the 2025-26 season, Seven Network split NFL rights with ESPN, which licensed its catalogue of sports rights in the market to Seven’s pay-TV rival Foxtel. Although not confirmed, that dynamic is likely to continue through the upcoming campaign.
Radio rights, including the rights to the Melbourne game, are held by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), the operator of a number of the country’s biggest radio networks, which renewed its multi-year agreement with the league ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
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