Stan Sport prices increase following EPL and FA Cup acquisition
Nine has increased the price for subscriptions to Stan Sport in the wake of securing the broadcast rights for the English Premier League and FA Cup.
The 19% price increase kicked in on July 1, seeing Stan Sports users pay a minimum of $32 a month, up $5 from the previous $27 monthly payment.
Stan’s basic plan costs $12 a month, while it’s mid-tier plan — which offers HD and up to three screens — costs $17. Stan Premium is $22 a month, offering 4K quality and four screens. Stan Sport, as an add-on, has increased from $15 to $20 a month.
A Nine spokesperson told Mumbrella the increase reflects the “significant expansion” of Stan’s sport offering.
“These are some of the biggest competitions in global sport, and they’re all now available live, on demand and in 4K where available, in one place on Stan Sport. We remain focused on delivering outstanding value and a premium viewing experience for Australian sports fans.”
The price hike came a day after Nine confirmed its purchase of the EPL and FA Cup from Optus for live and on-demand streaming.
In a widely anticipated move, Nine announced the purchase on the ASX on June 30, with the deal including the UEFA Women’s Euro competition beginning in July, as well as Japan’s J League and America’s National Women’s Soccer League. The EPL 25/26 season kicks off in August.
It signaled Optus’ retreat from its streaming content strategy, which began in 2016 when it took the EPL rights away from Foxtel in a deal that, at the time, was said to be worth over $60m a year. Optus first extended and then renewed these rights entirely in 2022 in a six-year deal for a reported $600m.
Optus Sport subscribers affected by the streaming shut down have been offered a transitional deal. For $9.99 a month, they can access Stan Premium and Stan Sport via Optus’ streaming aggregation product SubHub from August 2025 until January 2026.
Stan Sport also holds broadcasting rights for other major sporting events like Wimbledon, the upcoming British & Irish Lions Tour, and the UEFA Champions League.
Nine recently hiked prices across its publishing division, with digital subscriptions for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, and WA Today increasing by 21%. It is the second year in a row it has done this at the end of the financial year.
A digital subscription for any of the four mastheads has now risen from $21.49 a month, to $25.99 – a 21% hike.
At the digital-only cost, Nine’s city-based mastheads are still a deal cheaper than its prestige publication, the Australian Financial Review, which costs $64.80 a month for a digital subscription.
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I’d hoped Stan would offer a sports package without having to pay for all its other rubbish. I’ll continue with ‘alternative’ streams until it does
Sneaky
Sadly with only one network taking basically all sport there will be price hikes whenever they seem fit. With Optus and Stan competing against each other prices were high but manageable now this opens the door for little or no competition and I believe the prices will soon show this.
I’m out.