Foxtel announces price rise as V’landys NRL broadcast deal promise immediately tested

NRL boss Peter V’landys repeatedly declared the ARLC’s determination to keep the game affordable for fans during the drawn-out 2028 broadcast deal negotiations. 

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But that promise is already being put to the test.

Less than a fortnight since locking in the lucrative NRL broadcast rights until at least the end of the 2034 season, the DAZN-owned Foxtel has announced it will once again raise its subscriber prices from 1 September this year.

Subscriptions will jump by $5 per month for Foxtel Plus and Platinum Plus services, with Foxtel customers already on 12-month plans set to face the increase when their current contract expires.

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Foxtel customers were advised of the looming increase earlier this week, marking the latest in a steady upward creep of subscription prices that has seen small but regular rises since 2023.

From September 1, it’s understood Foxtel Plus and Platinum Plus services will increase by $5 a month taking Foxtel Plus to around $83 a month and Platinum Plus to $104 a month.

The increases aren’t confined to Foxtel itself, of course. 

Foxtel’s streaming arm Kayo has also been steadily increasing its monthly prices in recent times with its premium tier bumped from $35 to $40 in March 2025, and then to $45.99 in February 2026 — an increase of almost 33 per cent in less than a year. 

At a time when cost of living pressures are constantly in the headlines, it will be interesting to see what the ARLC has to say and, perhaps more tellingly, what NRL fans decide to do come next season.

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‘I assure the price point will be protected’

The news of the price rise comes barely a week after confirmation of Foxtel’s $5.3 billion NRL rights agreement alongside free-to-air broadcaster Nine Entertainment.

At the deal’s official announcement, Peter V’landys was asked directly about the likelihood of the new broadcast deal driving up subscription prices for fans.

“I assure the price point will be protected,” he stated.

“All I know is that DAZN is a brilliant partner and they honour their word… I need to drive volume for them, and that’s what I’m going to do. I need to do things that help them keep the price where it is.”

V’landys has long maintained a key strategy is to grow NRL viewership overseas which would help DAZN offset costs and keep subscription prices in check in Australia. 

That may well still happen, but for now it’s certainly being put to an early test.

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