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New partnership with Telstra brings netball to a wider audience
Netball Australia today announced a new partnership with Telstra that will bring Australia’s second most participated team sport to a wider audience than ever before by broadcasting major netball games on Telstra’s BigPond media assets, and bolster their bid for the World Netball Championships in 2015.
Telstra’s sponsorship extends to the end of 2012 and will see a range of games including the ANZ Championship and Diamonds’ Test matches streamed online, including on Telstra T-Box and other IPTV services.
Other components of the Telstra sponsorship agreement with Netball Australia include grassroots support of netball through programs such as the Telstra Assistance Fund and the Telstra Affinity Program, as well as partnerships with each of the five Australian teams in the ANZ Championship.
“Telstra joins us at a time when netball is enjoying increased participation and visibility and will be instrumental in taking the sport to new heights in the digital space,” Netball Australia CEO Kate Palmer said.
“We have seen Telstra’s successful partnerships with other sports and Telstra’s commitment from elite through to local levels of sport will help us cater to the growing appetite for netball and give us the opportunity to connect with even more netball fans.”
Telstra Group Managing Director of Innovation, Products and Marketing, Kate McKenzie said Telstra was pleased to help an iconic women’s sport reach a wider audience: “Telstra is delighted to be using our technology to connect netball fans to their favourite game.”
“This great line up of netball content joins the other sports content already available from Telstra including the AFL, NRL and the V8s and means our customers are spoilt for choice. As a netball tragic myself I am thrilled to be bringing the game to new audiences,” Ms McKenzie said.
Kate Palmer said the sponsorship would also add further credibility to Australia’s bid for the World Netball Championships in 2015, which is being assessed by a visiting delegation from International Federation of Netball (IFNA) delegates today. Australia and host city Sydney are up against Manchester in the bid to stage netball’s premier event, which features the top 16 teams from around the globe.
“The new partnership gives a clear indication to IFNA officials that in addition to a huge fan base, netball has the corporate backing that will allow this country to stage the most commercially successful World Championships ever,” Ms Palmer said.
“We hope Telstra’s ability to help Netball Australia reach a wider audience gives their bid the edge over Manchester, and we are barracking for them to be successful,” Ms McKenzie added.
The sponsorship is the first one to be finalised under netball’s National Sponsorship Framework, meaning that all netball’s State and Territory bodies will benefit.
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