One of the biggest moments in NFL history is heading to Australian television, with Seven locking in the rights to the league’s long awaited regular season debut at the MCG.
The new agreement will see Seven retain the exclusive free to air rights to the 2026 NFL season, including weekly games, the playoffs, Super Bowl LXI and the historic clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.
While Seven has long been the NFL’s free to air home in Australia, the 2026 season shapes as its biggest yet, with local interest in the sport continuing to grow ahead of the league’s first ever regular season game on Australian soil.
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Alongside the expanded match coverage, Seven will also double its weekly NFL Tailgate program, adding a Friday preview show and a Monday review edition to deliver more news, analysis and highlights throughout the season.
Southern Cross Media Group Managing Director and CEO Rohan Lund said securing the 2026 rights, led by the Melbourne game, reinforced Seven’s commitment to bringing the world’s biggest sporting events to Australian audiences free of charge.
“Australians possess an unrivalled passion for live sport, and our focus is on bringing the world’s biggest sporting spectacles to local audiences completely free.”
Southern Cross Media Group Managing Director and CEO Rohan Lund (left) and NFL General Manager Australia and New Zealand Charlotte Offord (images – supplied)
NFL General Manager Australia and New Zealand Charlotte Offord said Australia’s growing fan base had made the local market an important part of the league’s international expansion plans.
“Growing fandom in Australia and globally is at the core of the NFL’s international strategy, and being able to work together with great media partners like the Seven Network to reach the widest audiences is critical to us being able to achieve that.”
Coverage of the historic Melbourne clash begins with a special edition of Sunrise before kickoff, with the full 2026 NFL season to air live and free across Seven and 7plus Sport.
The historic San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams clash will air live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport on Friday, 11 September, with coverage beginning from 9.00am AEST.
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