Source : ABC NEWS
Diamonds star Jo Weston has called for a pay increase for netballers after a new free-to-air TV deal was announced last week.
“Obviously we’re going to have to go back to the negotiating table now that we have a broadcast deal that has been signed,” Weston, who is president of the Australian netball players’ association, said on ABC Offsiders on Sunday.
Under the comprehensive five-year deal through to 2031, Nine will broadcast every Super Netball match, all Australian Diamonds matches and the 2027 World Cup, held in Sydney.
It means the sport will come out from a behind a paywall for the first time in five years when Fox Sports held the host broadcasting rights across streaming channels.
Weston said having all the games freely accessible was a “momentous occasion”. She told Netball Australia the players “want netball to be accessible to our fans and to new fans as well”.
The new partnership kicks in January 1, 2027, after Foxtel’s $35 million deal expires.
Weston said they weren’t sure of the exact figure of the new partnership at this stage, but told ABC she hoped the revenue found it way to players’ pockets.
The union has long been advocating for revenue share models, which would see netballers earn a cut of the money the sport brings in.
It was the major sticking point in the 2023 Collective Player Agreement (CPA), which saw a bitter battle between the sport’s governing body and the players play out publicly.
Nine has won the broadcast rights to all Super Netball matches, Australian Diamonds games and the 2027 World Cup. (Getty: Sarah Reed)
The latest deal signed in September 2025 was for national players to get a share of the revenue from Diamonds’s sponsorships, broadcast and event revenue.
Weston further commented how broadcast was just one component of the overall money netballers were bringing in, along with ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorship.
“We’re signing badges with our faces on them and at the moment players don’t get a percentage of that revenue,” she told the ABC.
“So I feel like if we want to continue to remain the sport for girls, it’s a very competitive market out there [with] AFLW, NRLW, the WNBL, we want to make sure that we’re capitalising and keeping players in the sport and wanting to become netballers.”
At the time of the last CPA, Kathryn Harby-Williams, chief executive of the union, said the platform was now laid for a more sustainable future for the sport.
“The new revenue share partnership model aligns netball with other major national and international sports, recognising that the world champion Australian Diamonds are more than just employees — they are the product,” she said.
“This agreement ensures players are starting to be rewarded in a way that reflects their impact and success.”
