Introduction
Is the NRL Grand Final Live on Kayo? Understanding the Broadcast Rights Paradox By BBC Sports Analysis Unit Despite its branding as the primary streaming service for rugby league in Australia, the National Rugby League (NRL) Grand Final is consistently unavailable for live viewing on the subscription platform, Kayo Sports. This situation is the direct result of complex, multi-billion-dollar broadcast deals that grant exclusive live rights for the competition's pinnacle match to the free-to-air provider, the Nine Network, and its affiliated streaming service, 9Now. Kayo, owned by the rival Foxtel Group, offers immediate replays and comprehensive coverage of the entire season, but the men’s Grand Final remains a notable exception, forcing subscribers to seek alternative, free methods to view the match in real-time. The current media landscape for the NRL is defined by a dual-broadcaster arrangement, a model common in Australian sport designed to balance commercial revenue with public access. The existing agreement, valued at approximately $A1. 7 billion over five years and set to expire at the end of the 2027 season, divides content delivery primarily between the subscription television provider, Foxtel (and its digital platform, Kayo Sports), and the free-to-air broadcaster, Nine. Foxtel/Kayo carries five exclusive matches live per week during the premiership season, alongside comprehensive coverage of the women’s NRLW competition, including its Grand Final.
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Nine, however, holds the exclusive rights to the three most prominent matches each week, the full State of Origin series, and critically, the final match of the season—the men’s Grand Final. This distinction for the Grand Final is rooted in both commercial strategy and historical government policy. Major events like the NRL Grand Final are subject to Australia’s ‘anti-siphoning’ laws, which aim to ensure that key national sporting events remain accessible to the public on free television rather than being locked exclusively behind paywalls. While the legislation does not explicitly forbid subscription services from carrying the game, the commercial reality of the rights negotiation means the free-to-air network, which guarantees universal access, demands and pays a premium for the live exclusivity of the grandest fixture. For Kayo subscribers, this results in a mandatory viewing delay. While Foxtel’s Fox League channel is legally permitted to broadcast a replay shortly after the final whistle, typically within an hour of the game’s conclusion, the ability to watch the moment a champion is crowned live is reserved solely for Nine’s primary channel and its free digital platform, 9Now. This creates a challenging paradox for dedicated fans who pay for Kayo specifically for uninterrupted rugby league access throughout the year, only to find the most significant game relegated to a delayed status.
The commercial value of this exclusivity to the Nine Network was recently underlined by record viewership figures. The 2025 NRL Grand Final, for example, achieved a National Total TV Reach of over 6. 4 million viewers, according to Nine, marking it as the highest rating NRL Grand Final of all time and Australia’s most-watched television program of the year. This success directly validates the strategy of keeping the decisive match on a free, universal platform. Commenting on the results and the network’s commitment to the code, Nine’s Managing Director of Streaming and Broadcast, Amanda Laing, said the figures demonstrated the network's value proposition. “We believe the greatest game of all should be accessible to everyone, and by providing that universal, free-to-air access, we are helping to grow the sport’s fan base in every corner of the country,” Laing stated, implicitly reinforcing the network’s exclusive hold on the final match. The conversation about exclusivity has intensified ahead of the next round of broadcast negotiations, which are expected to ramp up for the post-2027 deal.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys has publicly signalled a desire to maximise the value of the rights package, suggesting a willingness to explore new partners, including global streaming giants, to drive up competition. The future arrangement will undoubtedly confront the growing consumer demand for live streaming convenience versus the public imperative to maintain major events on free-to-air television. For now, the NRL Grand Final sits firmly in the realm of protected national viewing. While Kayo Sports remains an essential platform for dedicated rugby league followers for the bulk of the season, its coverage is constrained by the powerful, existing rights agreements. Subscribers must continue to navigate the dual-platform system, relying on the Nine Network for the exclusive, live broadcast of the men’s Grand Final before turning back to Kayo for the comprehensive post-match analysis and replay coverage. The resolution of this paradox will ultimately be determined by the commercial terms of the next major broadcast deal.
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