Channel Nine makes a surprise move to slim down its footy coverage for one big reason – and here’s why NRL fans are HAPPY about it

Channel Nine is set to scrap part of its NRL coverage for its upcoming Saturday night matches.

According to Capital Brief, the broadcaster will not televise its post-game shows for the prime-time Saturday night slot for the next three weeks, starting with this weekend’s clash between South Sydney and Parramatta.

It comes as Nine revealed in June that the English Premier League will return to free-to-air television in Australia for the first time since 2019.

Ahead of this weekend’s opening round of Premier League fixtures, the broadcaster will curtail its coverage of the Rabbitohs clash against the Eels in order to televise Aston Villa’s season opener against Newcastle.

Live coverage of Parramatta’s clash against the Souths will finish right after full-time at 9:25pm, with Nine set to switch straight to events unfolding at Villa Park.

The news has delighted many Aussie sports fans, who had previously required a subscription to watch games on Optus Sport.

Nine’s coverage of the Souths game against the Eels will end earlier in order for the broadcaster to televise Aston Villa vs Newcastle 

Nine’s streaming arm Stan Sport acquired the rights from Optus Sport to stream all 380 Premier League matches for a fee of around $300million in June.

The landmark move, which will continue for multiple seasons, though it is not certain how many free-to-air matches will be shown on Channel Nine.

However, The Daily Telegraph claims that Nine’s coverage of the Premier League will not impact this year’s finals series.

Some fans have hailed the move, with one writing on X: ‘Good. The Premier League is a much better competition.’

‘Post-match jibber is pretty boring. I normally turn off after two interviews.’

One added: ‘Who really cares if they drop the post-game dribbleathon!’

Some, conversely, added: ‘Love NRL, don’t love EPL. Love this decision by Channel Nine.’

Reflecting on Nine and Stan’s acquisition of the Premier League, Nine chief executive officer Matt Stanton, explained the gravity of the move.

Nine’s streaming arm Stan Sport had acquired the rights from Optus Sport to stream all 380 Premier League matches for a fee of around $300million in June

‘The Premier League is the most-watched football league on the planet, and alongside the Emirates FA Cup, this acquisition reinforces Nine’s position as the home of sport in Australia. 

‘We are proud to deliver these iconic competitions to Australian audiences through Stan Sport.

‘The full power of Nine will be activated to bring new attention and energy to the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup. 

‘With more than 20 million Australians engaging with Nine’s platforms every month, we have an unrivalled ability to generate excitement at scale, drive audience growth and deliver meaningful commercial outcomes for our partners.’