Live NRL coming to Pacific free-to-air TV

Free TV Australia has announced a new agreement that will bring live National Rugby League matches to Pacific audiences through the PacificAus TV initiative, expanding access to the sport across the region.

Under the agreement, Pacific partner broadcasters will air two live NRL matches and one delayed match each week, giving fans across the Pacific free-to-air access to the world's premier rugby league competition.

PacificAus TV already distributes Australian content through 18 free-to-air broadcasters across 12 nations, including Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue and Timor-Leste.

Fiji and Papua New Guinea already have existing broadcast arrangements in place.

Bridget Fair, CEO of Free TV Australia, said the partnership reflects the cultural importance of rugby league throughout the Pacific.

“Free TV is very proud to deliver the PacificAus TV initiative as a key component of Australia's Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, and this agreement for the NRL is a perfect expression of what the initiative is for," Fair said.

"Rugby league is deeply woven into the fabric of Pacific life, and PacificAus TV is uniquely placed to deliver world-class sport through trusted local channels – ensuring communities from the Cook Islands and Niue to Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and beyond can enjoy this premium programming at no cost.

“We look forward to deepening cultural and community ties with our Pacific partners through the shared language of rugby league.”

Pacific influence in the NRL has never been stronger. Players of Pasifika heritage make up 52 per cent of all NRL talent, with 29 per cent having at least one parent born in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga or other Pacific islands.

Many of the game's biggest stars reflect those roots, including Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, Payne Haas, Addin Fonua-Blake and Isaiya Katoa.

The passion for rugby league across the Pacific was also on display in October 2025, when a crowd of 44,682 attended the Samoa and Tonga fixture, the biggest in Australia for a Test not involving the Kangaroos since 1957.

Shane Wood, Director of PacificAus TV, said the new broadcast deal will ensure Pacific fans can follow the sport more closely than ever.

“In the recent NRL Annual Report 2025, Rugby League again confirmed its position as the biggest sport in Australia and the Pacific — with record audiences, record attendance, and record participation. We are proud that fans across the Pacific can now watch the world's best rugby league live, for free, through their own local broadcasters," Wood stated.