Exclusive rights: $12 million to be spent by non-NRL broadcaster on 2026 World Cup

Channel Seven will reportedly pay up to $12 million to broadcast the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.

The NRL in Australia is broadcast by Channel Nine and Fox Sports, but, as was the case with the World Cup last time it was held in Australia, they are set to be overlooked for the rights to the tournament, with the Seven Network expected to secure the rights, according to a Sydney Morning Herald report.

It’s understood that both Nine and Fox Sports had interest in broadcasting the tournament, but Nine was not willing to pay such a high fee.

Channel Seven also broadcast the tournament last time it was held in Australia in 2017.

The new deal, if it is confirmed, will be the largest in the history of the international game.

The timing of the play from Channel Seven is an intriguing one, with the network well known to be keen on securing broadcast rights to the competition, which have been held by Nine and Fox for decades.

Seven, which currently broadcasts the AFL and cricket in summer, has already been approached by the NRL alongside other networks as the competition begins to negotiate its next broadcast deal, which will start in 2028 and could be the richest in the game’s history as an 18th and then 19th team are set to join the league.

The addition of the Perth Bears will create an extra prime-time slot and ensure nine games per week, while the intrigue around the Papua New Guinea-based team in 2028 will add further intrigue to the competition.

The international game is also booming, with Samoa making the last final of the World Cup, and the Pacific Island nations out to cause havoc in 2026 with the traditional big guns of the sport.

The World Cup will take on a different format in 2026, however, with the tournament to be played by just 10 nations in a reduced format compared to the one from four years ago in England.

Australia, New Zealand, England, Fiji, Lebanon, Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea will be joined by two play-off winners, with France to take on Jamaica, and the Cook Islands to clash with South Africa.

Australia, England, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, as well as Wales, England, and Samoa, have also qualified for the women’s series, while one of Canada, Fiji, Ireland, and Nigeria will join them.

This year, the Pacific Championships, as well as the Ashes, will be broadcast by Channel Nine and Fox Sports.