Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie says new arrangements create opportunities to focus on the audience. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Netball New Zealand boss Jennie Wyllie is excited about 2025 and beyond, despite the domestic league being cut from three rounds to two.
The national body and Sky TV have agreed to a one-year extension to their existing broadcast partnership, while next year's ANZ Premiership will be reduced to a new two-round format.
Netball NZ has also entered into a further 12-month partnership with TVNZ, for free-to-air coverage of ANZ Premiership Saturday matches, which was a new initiative this year.
But next year those round robin matches will be broadcast live exclusively on TVNZ.
And you won't see the regular Sky Sport crew and commentary team as Netball New Zealand will be self-producing those matches.
"That allows us to be able to tailor it for the audience that we will be in front of and we're really looking forward to that," Wyllie said.
"We will be doing that directly with a production house, we'll be wanting to be able to put that out to RFP (request for proposal) and make sure that we can present a product that is reflective of our fans and the entertainment side of things, that we are really keen to see happen."
Sky will then take the feed from the 4pm Saturday game and broadcast it on delay.
"It's pretty cool and exciting to be able to have such input on that - we're excited to see ... where that might take us."
Maddy Gordon playing in the ANZ Premiership Netball Stars v Pulse game in April. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Will the production costs be worth it for one game a week?
"Every game needs to be produced in some sort of capacity and to be able to tailor it to engage with fans and present our product as we would like to, is super exciting."
How much does having the free-to-air component with TVNZ improve NNZ's commercial prospects?
"It's fantastic - what we have seen is an ongoing trend, where our fans are consuming content in many different ways. And part of this strategy is about exploring what those channels are," Wyllie said.
"Free-to-air is absolutely a critical component of that, to have more netball in front of our fans than we've ever had before is really exciting, but also how we are utilizing platforms such as Netball Pass (World Netball's live streaming platform) to be able to reach new fans and markets."
Wyllie said reducing the season was a response to feedback from the teams themselves and fans.
"And this has been a theme that we have considered carefully, done the research and homework on it. To be able to move to two rounds is something that we're excited about and for the teams to bring that intensity to those two rounds will be super exciting for fans as well."
Further broadcast partnership conversations for 2026 and beyond are due to begin later this year.
Last month, RNZ reported Netball NZ had already inked a significantly reduced broadcast deal with Sky Sport for another year.
But Wyllie refused to say if NNZ has taken a hit on broadcast revenue with the Sky extension.
"We've got a confidential agreement in terms of both of our broadcast partners, and it's not something we delve into. What we do know is this agreement allows us to reach into a fan base and new partnerships that we haven't been able to explore historically, so we're excited about what that brings to the table."
The ANZ Premiership will look a little different next year. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Is it likely that players will have to take a pay cut next year?
"The players are in collective bargaining currently with the Players Association, that is a confidential process. And they are incredibly important to our system so we are working really closely with them on that."
If the athletes are playing less, it stands to reason they will be paid less, but Wyllie said a shorter season opened up a new content window.
"Whether it be domestic or World Netball content ... there's lots of opportunities in the next six months to explore how we might take that to market and what it might look like. We'll sit down with our stakeholders and talk about what some of those opportunities might look like."
Wyllie would not comment on whether NNZ had approached their Australian counterparts to obtain franchise licenses in the Australian league from 2026, as reported by RNZ last month.
"We are focusing on 2025, ensuring our teams understand how we will move forward, the innovations that we will look at."
But Wyllie said nothing would be off the table for what things might look like from 2026.
"We've encouraged our athletes and other stakeholders to have their voice and we really want to hear from them. And we know that fans will engage ... let's see what comes out in terms of that thinking."