Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC) is facing a rival bid from competitor Foxtel for the National Rugby League's (NRL) streaming rights, as Foxtel has pitched for all the NRL rights, according to a Monday report by the Australian Financial Review, citing two people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Foxtel has also spoken to Seven and Ten television networks about them broadcasting some of the games on free-to-air, the report added.

Foxtel, which is a unit of UK-listed DAZN Group, will remove the Nine Network as an NRL broadcaster if its strategy succeeds, the report added.

Foxtel cannot make a bid for NRL rights alone due to Australia's anti-siphoning laws, which are designed to prevent popular sports events from becoming entirely paywalled or fee-based, the report added.

AFR added that the NRL is currently divided between the free-to-air Nine Network and Foxtel until the end of the 2027 season.

Nine did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' email request for comment.

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