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etball Australia has revealed the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season recorded six million viewers on Channel Nine, with the Grand Final bringing in 770,000 viewers alone.

The viewership numbers represent a 7% growth across the five city metro markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, with Sydney and Brisbane recording a 22% growth.

Netball Australia CEO, Kelly Ryan, said Telstra’s Netball Live mobile app streaming numbers increased by 6%, with a 43% increase in video consumption during the finals series.

“A 22% increase in viewers in Sydney and Brisbane is outstanding and we are excited by the growth of our competition, which continues to go from strength to strength,” Ryan said.

“This is credit to our broadcast partners Channel Nine and Telstra, who have been with us since the inception of Suncorp Super Netball in 2017.

“We thank them for their hard work and commitment to growing the Suncorp Super Netball League and making it more accessible to fans across the country and the world,” she said.

The 2022 Suncorp Super Netball season will mark the first year of a new five-year broadcast agreement with Foxtel, with the competition set to be broadcast across Kayo Sports and Foxtel from 2022.

Elsewhere, Netball Australia has announced its partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) will continue through to June 2023 in order to support the Pacific Women’s Sports Administration Program.

The program, which aims to bolster the development of Netball Samoa, Fiji Netball Association, Tonga Netball Association, and Netball Papua New Guinea, will continue to focus on the creation of opportunities for women in leadership roles in netball.

In a media release, Netball Australia said “the program will work to promote gender equality, leadership and economic opportunities and livelihoods for women across the region”, in order “to reduce barriers to female participation and increase the safety to participate.”

Netball Australia executive general manager of community product and market development, Melonie Lowe, said: “Our game is about opportunity for growth, and we are excited to be further supporting our partner countries with a program that will complement the work being done in the PacificAus Sport and Team Up programs.”

Netball Samoa CEO, Rosemari Esera, said: “For our netball community, this program means longevity for our sports sector and the sustainable growth of our association based on the best practices of good governance and management skills.”

“For me as CEO, it will empower my existing staff and assist me with getting the right people for new roles through a robust recruitment and selection process.

“It will also support me with policies and procedures for the office operations to review techniques and ensure they are current and in the context of our environment,” Esera said.