The NRL and Telstra will celebrate one of the longest naming rights partnerships in Australian sport in the 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership season.
Telstra's 20-year association with the NRL, as naming rights partner for the Premiership, began in 2001 and was expanded in 2020 to include the NRL Telstra Women's Premiership.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the 20-year milestone was an extraordinary achievement and testament to the support and commitment from Telstra.
"The partnership between the NRL and Telstra is one of the greatest partnerships in Australian sport,'' he said.
"20 years on, our partnership continues to grow and evolve. Last season Telstra expanded their commitment to rugby league, acquiring naming rights of the NRLW as well as the NRL Telstra Premiership. It's a partnership that spans from grassroots to the top tier and it keeps evolving."
"There's also been so many technological advances over the last two decades. Working with Telstra we've been able to give our fans access to rugby league content on more devices than ever before. Telstra has been at the forefront of the technological innovations that keep our fans connected and enhances their experiences."
Telstra Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Nicholas added: "The enduring and rewarding partnership between the NRL and Telstra is one of the most established naming rights partnerships in world sport, and during this time has seen both our company, and rugby league go through periods of immense change and improvement.
"When our association began, the ability to stream sport on mobile devices was still over a decade away. Together with the NRL, we used technology and innovation to help make this vision a reality and bring fans even closer to the game they love, in more places on our network.
"We are continually striving to improve this experience and recently announced an exclusive offer for eligible Telstra customers who've previously used NRL Live Pass to receive $20/month off Kayo's Basic subscription for 12 months, meaning they can enjoy the footy - and about 50 other sports - from their mobile device and almost any screen in their home for just $5/month."
Mr Nicholas said the NRL Official App remains the digital home of all the other features NRL fans know and love, including the latest news, full match replays, live scores, stats, highlights and more.
To celebrate the anniversary, Telstra will be rewarding fans who are Telstra Plus members with access to discounted NRL tickets this season. For Telstra Plus eligibility criteria visit https://plus.telstra.com.au/
