The Kerry Stokes-owned, Jeff Howard-run Seven Network is facing the same headwinds as its FTA TV network competitors, but is taking a more aggressive approach to securing its future.

Stokes recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that the narrative that FTA television is dying is “simply not true”. He seems to be putting his money where his mouth is, with Seven gearing up to bid on the NRL broadcast rights at the end of the 2027 rugby league season.

In partnership with Foxtel, Seven has already paid $4.5 billion for AFL broadcast rights from 2025-2031 and $1.5 billion for free-to-air coverage of domestic Test matches and some Big Bash matches over the same period.

The NRL received $2 billion for a five-year rights deal back in 2022, and it appears to be hoping for a lot more the next time around.

Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) chairman Peter V’Landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo have reportedly already travelled to the US to gauge interest from the likes of Amazon, DAZN and Netflix.

V’Landys recently told The Australian, “We would consider anyone who has reach and wants to make a lot of money. Our game will drive their revenues.”

Vlandys is on record stating he hopes to ink a deal worth up to $4 billion for 7-10 years of broadcast rights.

It’s not just Channel Nine that Seven has to worry about nowadays

Seven appears willing to contemplate such a deal, despite it involving yet another enormous outlay. An enormous outlay based on the assumption that large audiences will continue to watch live FTA broadcasts of popular sporting events well into the future.

As Seven CEO Jeff Howard recently said, “We’ve tried to be very disciplined about sports rights over the last few years. So if we could make NRL work on the network from a scheduling perspective, from an audience perspective, and an economics perspective, then we would have a think about it.”

Whatever happens with the NRL broadcast rights, it will take more than bullish statements from senior leaders to address Seven’s structural challenges.

As Channel News reported last week, while there are bright spots, Seven’s financial situation remains perilous. Its revenue for the last financial year fell 4% to around $1.35 billion, and net profit crashed by around 62% to just $17 million.