“Making Waves: A Revolutionary 10-Year Broadcast Partnership Between Swimming Australia and Nine Network Following Dolphin Triumphs in Paris!”

Swimming Australia And Nine Network Australia Announce Landmark 10-Year Broadcast Agreement

SWIMMING Australia and Nine Network Australia have today declared a groundbreaking 10-year, multi-channel media rights and sponsorship contract through to 2034 – the longest and most extensive broadcast agreement in the sport’s history.

This secures Australia’s leading Olympic sport within its current LA28 and Brisbane32 rights agreements with the International Olympic Committee for the next two Olympic and Paralympic Games – a perfect alignment for all stakeholders involved.

The ten-year pact follows Nine’s Wide World Of Sports transmission of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials in Brisbane, which attracted a record viewership of 5.7 million.

An event that established the foundation for Nine’s all-embracing swimming coverage of the Paris Games, presenting the most viewed highlight moments of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

The coverage commenced with the most awaited race within the Paris swimming schedule, with Aussie golden girl Ariarne Titmus defending her 400m freestyle title in an Olympic confrontation against Canadian star Summer McIntosh and the world’s top female freestyler Katie Ledecky.

Australian fans remained glued to their screens as the bouts between Australia and the USA continued to unfold – featuring Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O’Callaghan, Cameron McEvoy and Australia’s dominant female freestyle relay teams joining in the gold rush.

Then, moving stories of Alexa Leary and Ben Hance captivated record audiences during the Paralympic broadcasts.

This partnership is set to evolve, fostering the growth of both brands and elevating the profiles of Australia’s swimmers and The Dolphins National Team – a relationship that initially formed leading into the Sydney 2000 Games – playing an essential broadcast role as Australia under Don Talbot triumphed over the Americans for the first time at the 2001 World Championships.

Nine’s coverage will thrive across streaming, broadcasting, and publishing platforms – including the 9Network and 9Now – for the Swimming Australia calendar, which features Australian Swimming Trials, Australian Short Course Championships, Australian Age Championships, and Australian Open Championships.

The extensive agreement guarantees that events featuring Australia’s elite swimmers will be accessible in every household nationwide, solidifying Nine as swimming’s home, commencing with this week’s Australian Open Water Championships and OceanSwim Festival in Busselton, Western Australia.

 

Looking forward, viewers can look forward to elite international competitions on Nine including the Pan Pacs in 2026 and 2030.

The CEO of Swimming Australia, Rob Woodhouse characterized the significant pact with Nine as a transformative moment for the sport.

“It brings unmatched recognition to our National teams and to the upcoming generation of athletes who will be well-known names by LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032,” Woodhouse stated.

“We continually strive to enhance fan engagement and ensure the visibility of our Dolphins motivates all Australians to swim, improve their wellbeing, and engage with our swimming community.

“This represents a tremendous victory for both long-time and new fans of swimming, and for the Dolphins, providing extraordinary access to the sport we cherish.”

Nine’s Acting CEO Matt Stanton, expressed that his network takes pride in offering Swimming Australia an unmatched multimedia platform to exhibit its sport and achievements over the next 10 years.

“Sport is ingrained in our identity at Nine, and this collaboration guarantees Swimming Australia has the support and backing of Nine as we progress towards Brisbane 2032 and beyond,” Stanton remarked.

Nine’s Director of Sport Brent Williams, noted that The Dolphins have produced some of the most memorable moments in Australian sports history.

“This motivated team of champions continues to excel time after time on the global scene,” Williams stated.

“This agreement establishes a framework for Wide World of Sports to present the numerous fiercely competitive race meets, allow audiences to track the journeys of our celebrated athletes, and highlight the emerging talents in swimming who will be our future Olympic champions all the way to Brisbane 2032.”

EGM Commercial at Swimming Australia Jodie Hawkins, acknowledged Swimming Australia’s commercial rights agency SportFive “for its contribution towards establishing what she called ‘an exciting collaboration.’”

It was the partnership between Swimming Australia and Australia’s original Olympic agency, Sports Marketing And Management (currently SportFive) that signaled the start of the golden era of the 1990s and 2000s that showcased stars like Susie O’Neill, Kieren Perkins, Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Geoff Huegill, Jodie Henry and Petria Thomas.

SWIMMING AUSTRALIA PARTNERS WITH SPORTFIVE TO EXPAND COMMERCIAL FOOTPRINT