Netball Super League is embarking on a new era, through a multitude of differing commercial and cultural shifts that are combining to create a new blueprint for the sport.
Tamsin Greenway , three-time Netball Super League champion, former England international and now Sky Sports analyst, spoke to Insider Sport on the surge in two-point shot usage, thenew and improved Sky Sports broadcast deal and how the league can learn from US sports, in particular the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to create its own blueprint.
IS: Firstly Tamsin, with Sky Sports adding more Netball Super League games for this season, do you anticipate this to grow audiences and if so, which demographics specifically?
Tamsin Greenway: I think visibility is key. Everyone talks about how you don’t know what you can’t see. I think the reality is it’s been brilliant over the last few years to have one game shown and sometimes two games shown. But the actual consistency of week-in-week-out games, being able to follow every team, those journeys, those stories, those players, it matters.
I think that you will naturally gain growth not only from the people who are already netball fans, but the people who are likely to stumble across it as well.
We’ve got more chances of people coming across one of the four games on the weekends rather than just the one. Then to have it being so easily accessible, being streamed on YouTube, as well as on the main Sky Sports linear channels, that’s incredible for netball fans because we know they consume it differently, as we get a lot of views after the games.
IS: Can you reveal what fans can expect with the added content of Sky Sports’ NSL coverage, such as the Two-Goal Super Shot?
Tamsin Greenway: Netball had to be brave this year. We’ve been talking about doing this for so long to move to a professional era; it matters.
We’ve seen how successful two-point shots have been in Australia in terms of how it’s integrated into the game seamlessly and how it’s brought about the excitement and that extra thrill when broadcasters get involved, that’s what you want to see.
I don’t think any sport ever stands still. The way it develops is really important and I think there’s been some really key rule changes, the two-point being a big one that gives another talking point. I know the traditionalists of the game are always asking ‘do we have to change’ but I actually think it brings an added layer of discussion. I think it brings an outsider into the game.
Netball is fast-paced, high-scoring, end-to-end scoring all the time. The excitement around the longer distance shooting, and the joy it brings with two-pointers, you only have to look at the players at the recent Super Cup to see that they are genuinely excited at those moments because, at the end of the day, it’s all about the entertainment.
How important will the weekly ‘Off The Court’ shows be for fans to keep up-to-date with the league and what to expect in terms of content on the Sky Sports news show and the podcast?
Tamsin Greenway: It just shows how seriously the broadcasters have taken it. Sky has always been a massive supporter of netball, but I think it was waiting for a new era. It was waiting for England Netball and the teams to step up and go ‘right this is what we want to deliver’ and what I love is it’s been a massive collaboration between everybody to invest, and this is where we’re going to grow together.
I was so excited when they said I would get to do a slot on Sky Sports News. That is the ultimate right, to be able to stand there and be taken seriously to talk about our sport and deliver each week, to add that piece of an analysis that we don’t always get. It’s been sporadic in the past, whether we’ve had it at games or not, and then to do the podcast as well.
I think what we’ve been looking at with Sky in particular is ‘who is the audience’ and ‘who are we trying to get to?’ The Sky Sports News audience is very different to the ‘Off The Court’ podcast audience, it is very different to the analysis audience, and we’re trying to make sure we tick all those boxes, because growth doesn’t come from the existing fan. It is about keeping them entertained and keeping them with us, but it’s also then bringing new people into the frame and I think we’re starting to really deliver on that.
How do you think netball media can evolve and continue to connect with younger, digital-native audiences?
Tamsin Greenway: It’s huge and I think for netball it is quite an exciting time because we have no blueprint.
If you support a football team and they win 1-0, you’re not going to go back and watch the whole 90 minutes back. You’re going to find the three-minute highlights or all the goals you can find on YouTube.
We get a lot of fans come and then after the games, watch the whole game over again, and our views go up a lot.
I’ve got an 11-year-old daughter who’s obsessed with netball. She loves the little moments at the end when it gets really close and exciting. But she will also go back and rewatch highlights of her favourite players, her favourite team and what colour they’re playing in.
We have got to be far more aware that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. I think that is what I’m most pleased about this year. We have the die-hard fans, the stats and analysis, and then we’ve got the opportunity to rewatch games.
We’ve then got the opportunity to get to know the players better through the ‘Off The Court’ podcast, and the social content we’re putting out is second to none. We’re also starting to tell stories of the players and I feel for female fans, in particular, that’s what fans connect with. We know that a lot of female fans, if they love a player, will support the team that player is playing for, rather than supporting the team till the end of their life.
I think we have to accept how people consume and how people want to watch netball. It is very different and we need to make sure we tick all those boxes to cover all the fan base.
Managing Director Claire Nelson recently spoke on taking inspiration from the WNBA in terms of growing its audiences in the US. What do you believe the NSL can learn from the WNBA in terms of producing content, both on TV and digitally?
Tamsin Greenway: We have to be creative, take inspiration from other sports and create our own blueprint. I think the WNBA is a great example of that and I’m really interested in the star power of Caitlin Clark. I think there’s some really interesting facts about when she plays and who comes to watch.
Stars come from two different aspects for me in female sports; they come from a moment which you can’t manufacture. Helen Housby at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 is an example. That was a moment. Her winning goal with the last shot and the crazy picture at the end was history. But there is also an opportunity to create stars in terms of how they influence what they’re interested in, what they stand for and their personalities.
If anything that I follow outside of sports is about interesting females, interesting people and people I really like that have similar hobbies or ideas or thoughts. I think female sports should not be afraid to dive into that and I think as netballers, we’ve got a real opportunity because it’s such a mixed group of athletes. It’s almost like the sport could really start to handpick some of these players and say ‘okay, the moments might come, but actually, you’ve got so much more to say and you’re such a positive role model’.
How we explore that will be really interesting. Keeping the game as an entertainment package is key and that’s why I love my US sports because it’s all about the entertainment, but also building the stars away from the court and what they have to offer.