Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC) rival Foxtel has offered to buy rights to the National Rugby League (NRL) for seven years in a multi-billion-dollar proposal, according to a Friday report by the Australian Financial Review (AFR), citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

The report said that the bid would divide free-to-air coverage of the sport across two television networks, as under the proposal, Foxtel would acquire the rights in full and sublicense them to Southern Cross Media (ASX:SXL), the owner of the Seven Network, and Paramount, the owner of Network Ten.

Under the arrangement, Seven will broadcast Sunday and Monday matches as well as State of Origin, Ten will cover Thursday and Friday nights, and Foxtel and its streaming service Kayo Sports will hold the streaming rights, the report added.

Nine, which is also the publisher of AFR, previously proposed an offer valued at between AU$550 million and AU$600 million annually, bringing the total over five years to around AU$3 billion, the report added.

AFR reported its sources did not specify an annual figure for Foxtel's offer, though they said the total exceeded Nine's competing bid. The amounts Southern Cross and Paramount would pay Foxtel for their share of the television rights were not disclosed either.

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

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)