Monday 5 December 2016 09:13, UK
Sky Sports have agreed a new four-year Netball deal which will see every live match made available in all Sky TV homes on Sky Sports Mix.
In partnership with England Netball, Sky Sports has boosted its support of women's sport by signing an agreement to broadcast international and domestic games.
Every netball match shown on Sky this season will be available on Sky Sports Mix, beginning with England's series against Jamaica later this month.
Sky Sports Mix broadcasts a range of different sports to excite and engage the whole family and is available to every Sky TV customer at no extra cost. The new channel means that more viewers will be able to tune in to support the England Roses and catch all of the action from the Vitality Netball Superleague.
The netball joins a schedule of programming on Sky Sports Mix that includes more women's sport, as well as football, golf, darts and NFL.
Barney Francis, Sky Sports Managing Director, said: "Sky Sports is getting behind netball like never before. Over the past few years netball has been a huge hit with our viewers and it is fantastic that more people than ever before will be able to watch it on Mix. Sky is an unrivalled supporter of women in sport and we really recognise what an important time this is for women's sport."
Under the new deal, Sky Sports will show all home England international Test matches. Live coverage of the England Roses will begin in November with the eagerly anticipated series against Jamaica. With the two teams currently ranked third and fourth in the world.
Beginning on November 29 at a sold-out Copper Box Arena, the series then moves to Manchester on December 2, before reaching its conclusion on December 4 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
"The four-year agreement builds on the previous success of Sky's coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague, in which fans watched Surrey Storm lift the trophy last season in dramatic fashion. Viewers can look forward to following their local team in the Superleague with matches being shown regularly throughout the season, alongside exclusive coverage of the semi-finals and Grand Final. Sky's coverage begins on February 18," said England Netball coach Tracey Neville.
In addition to international and Superleague netball, Sky Sports will broadcast every game from the yearly Quad Series.
This year's inaugural Quad Series saw world champions Australia come out on top over New Zealand, England and South Africa.
England Netball CEO, Joanna Adams, said: "The new agreement strengthens Sky Sports' unrivalled commitment to women's sport, which over the next 12 months will see Sky Sports show the Solheim Cup, all five golf majors, the cricket World Cup hosted in England, international rugby and equestrian. On top of live coverage of women's sport, the weekly Sportswomen show on SSNHQ is dedicated to covering news stories and features about women in sport."
This new set of rights is part of Sky's commitment to women in sport, focusing on partnerships, people, programming and participation. Follow us on twitter @SkySportsNetball & through our website www.skysports.com/netball & mobile apps.
You can watch England v Jamaica in the international series on Tuesday 29th November, Friday 2nd December and Sunday 4th December - live on Sky Sports.
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