Nine CEO Matt Stanton and Amanda Laing presented their bid to the Australian Rugby League Commission on Tuesday.
Nine is pitching to buy all the NRL broadcast rights, according to media reports, in a deal that would encompass Nine and Stan Sport.
The Australian Financial Review reports Nine CEO Matt Stanton personally led the company’s presentation alongside broadcast and streaming boss Amanda Laing to Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys and outgoing NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo on Tuesday.
Such a deal would shut Foxtel out of NRL rights, which may not be in NRL’s interests. It is seeking a deal worth $4 billion covering the five years from 2028.
V’landys has threatened to “take the rights elsewhere” if the two media companies put forward a joint bid to try and drive the price south.
But there are also reports Seven and Amazon’s Prime Video are planning a bid.
V’Landys this week stated he hopes to have the new NRL broadcast rights deal completed before July 15, before outgoing NRL CEO Andrew Abdo departs for Tennis Australia.