Sky Sports signs multi-year deal with England Netball

Sky Sports has renewed its multi-year broadcast deal with England Netball.

The agreement sees the Vitality Netball Superleague broadcast across Sky Sports and England Netball’s platforms, including free-to-air on their YouTube channels. Sky will also make highlights available for those who miss the live matches.

The Superleague begins on 12 February with 11 teams after the addition of Leeds Rhinos. Due to Covid-19 protocols, games will be played behind closed doors at Studio 001 in Wakefield for the first nine weeks, with the rest of the season then taking place at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Sky Sports managing director, Rob Webster, said: “Sky Sports has been a long-term partner of netball since 2006. We are delighted to be expanding upon our existing deal to bring the thrill of the game to our audiences for years to come.

“Popularity for the sport has increased in recent years as viewing figures saw 550k people tune in to watch England’s Vitality Roses in 2019’s thrilling Netball World Cup semi-final. At Sky Sports our goal is always to be the best partner to sport and we hope by working together we can help Netball continue to grow in future.”

Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, added: “We were delighted to bring elite netball back to the court during our recent Vitality Netball Legends Series, that saw the Vitality Roses play an international All Stars side, made up of talent from the Vitality Netball Superleague, and we cannot wait to continue that momentum and give our Netball Family something to look forward to.

“This partnership is a huge milestone for netball in this country and underlines the continued interest in our sport. The increased visibility this will bring will shine a light on the incredible role models in our game and help to inspire a nation of women and girls to take to the court.”