Super Rugby is disappearing from free-to-air television after Rugby Australia extended its deal with Nine Entertainment – with that organisation putting the worth at $43 million per year for the next five years.

Nine-owned newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald outlined the deal ahead of RA’s official announcement on Thursday.

According to their report, the agreement to extend the partnership followed an exclusive negotiating period over summer. RA and Nine Entertainment have formally signed a deal worth about $215 million in cash and free advertising.

The deal will see Nine and subscription streaming service Stan Sport screen all Wallabies, Wallaroos and Super Rugby fixtures, for both men’s and women’s competitions.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

All Super Rugby games will be shown on Stan Sport, with no games shown on Nine’s free-to-air channels – recalling the previous association with Foxtel.

Under the existing agreement, one Super Rugby match is shown on free-to-air each round. The Herald reported “the uplift in overall value for RA has seen the organisation agree to Stan Sport having exclusivity for the games.”

Super Rugby had announced recently improved figures for the free-to-air coverage, and the move will draw criticism for putting the competition behind paywall.

The deal does not include the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but Nine are in talks with World Rugby about securing the broadcast rights to the tournament, as well as the 2025 and 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cups.

Nine’s previous deal with RA was worth around $150 million, upgrading the value by around $13 million per year from $30m.

Another Nine newspaper, the Australian Financial Review, is reporting the deal includes incentives to RA based on the performances of the Wallabies and the men’s Super Rugby teams.