{"id":549331,"date":"2026-03-18T23:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T23:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549331\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T23:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T23:18:10","slug":"top-nrl-voices-targeted-in-nine-cost-cutting-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549331\/","title":{"rendered":"Top NRL voices targeted in Nine cost-cutting drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senior rugby league commentators Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer<\/a> have reportedly been approached over potential pay reductions, as Nine grapples with declining advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

The move reflects broader financial pressures facing commercial broadcasters, with Nine understood to be reviewing costs across its NRL<\/a>\u00a0coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The network has long relied on high-profile analysts like Gould and Lockyer to anchor its rugby league programming, but tightening budgets appear to be forcing difficult conversations.<\/p>\n

Gould, currently serving as Head of Football at the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs<\/a>, remains one of the most influential voices in the game, both on and off the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lockyer, a Queensland great and former Australian captain, has similarly become a mainstay in broadcast analysis since retiring from professional football.<\/p>\n

Nine’s advertising downturn comes at a critical juncture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The network’s current deal with the NRL<\/a> runs through 2027, and its ability to retain those rights may hinge on how effectively it manages costs in the coming years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Failure to stabilise its financial position could open the door to rival bidders.<\/p>\n

Among them is the Seven Network, which is reportedly positioning itself for a push into rugby league, starting its coup with its newest panel show, The Agenda Setters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seven is said to be exploring a bid that could include the return of Monday night football and a takeover of marquee events such as State of Origin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such a shift would mark a significant disruption in the NRL’s broadcast landscape, ending Nine’s long-standing association with the code and reshaping how fans consume the game.<\/p>\n

For now, the immediate focus remains on cost control within Nine’s existing coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Senior rugby league commentators Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer have reportedly been approached over potential pay reductions, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-549331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}