Netball: Netball TV war nears climax

Netball New Zealand is expected to announce in the next few days who has won the rights to screen netball next year.

Sky Television and Television New Zealand have been in a bidding war for the rights over the past few months.

Netball NZ's contract with Television New Zealand expired this month and Sky Television is understood to be keen to get the rights to all major events - the National Bank Cup, international series and the Smokefree Championships.

TVNZ is understood to have upped its bid and may have done enough to hold on to the sport.

The state broadcaster's relationship with Netball NZ spans more than a decade, but its coverage of the sport's premier domestic competition, the National Bank Cup, has come under criticism because it generally screens only one game a week.

Sky's proposal is understood to involve showing almost every game.

But because the National Bank Cup clashes with Super 12 rugby and the NRL, the games would probably be screened on Sky Sport 2 or 3.

Sky can also offer replays and produce netball-type shows such as Netball Weekly, which screened this year.

It is understood that TVNZ promised to screen more games and it bumped up its monetary offer to match Sky's.

What TVNZ also has in its favour is that a number of Netball New Zealand sponsors are keen to see the sport stay with TVNZ, where it rates well.

Netball fans, who are mainly female, are said to prefer that the sport remains on the free-to-air network.

If netball does follows rugby, league, soccer and cricket and heads to pay TV, it would leave motorsport and the Commonwealth and Olympic Games as the only live sports events free to air.