Australia’s biggest Indigenous sporting and cultural gathering is returning for another October long weekend, and this time the action is heading to Worimi Country in the Hunter region. If you’re planning to watch the 2026 NSW Koori Knockout from your living room rather than the sideline, here’s a complete breakdown of what channel it’s on, when coverage kicks off, and how the broadcast typically works across the four-day carnival.

The Basics: When and Where Is the 2026 Knockout?

The 2026 NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout runs from Friday, 2 October to Monday, 5 October, staged at Kings Park Sporting Complex in Raymond Terrace, Port Stephens, on Worimi Country. The event is being hosted by the Newcastle Yowies, who earned hosting rights after their clean sweep of the men’s, women’s, Under-15s girls, and Under-17s girls titles at the 2025 carnival in Tamworth. Organisers are expecting close to 200 teams and daily crowds pushing into the tens of thousands, which makes this one of the largest editions of the Knockout in its more than fifty-year history.

For anyone who can’t get to Raymond Terrace, or simply prefers to follow from home, the carnival has become a genuine television event over the past decade — not just a local footy carnival, but a broadcast fixture with dedicated coverage, commentary teams, and national reach.

What TV Channel Is the Koori Knockout On?

The Koori Knockout’s home broadcaster is National Indigenous Television (NITV), part of the SBS network, working alongside its parent channel SBS and the streaming platform SBS On Demand. NITV has carried the Knockout for well over a decade and has built the coverage into one of its signature sporting events of the year, pairing live match vision with cultural storytelling, community interviews, and highlights packages that run across NITV’s digital and social channels.

The 2026 Knockout has already been flagged as one of NITV’s key upcoming titles for the year, confirming the network’s continued partnership with the tournament. Based on the pattern of recent years, viewers should expect coverage split across three main destinations:

  • NITV (channel 34 on free-to-air digital TV in most areas, also available on Foxtel and Fetch) — the primary home of match broadcasts, draws, and feature coverage.
  • SBS (the main channel) — used for selected simulcasts of marquee sessions, particularly grand final day and other headline broadcasts.
  • SBS On Demand — the streaming home for live streams, match replays, and highlights, accessible for free without a subscription.

If you don’t have access to a television with NITV tuned in, SBS On Demand is generally the easiest way to catch the action, since it mirrors the live broadcast and doesn’t require a cable package or paid subscription — just an internet connection and the SBS app or website.

What Time Does Coverage Start?

Exact timings for the 2026 broadcast schedule hadn’t been locked in as of the venue announcement earlier this year, but NITV’s coverage has followed a fairly consistent rhythm across recent carnivals, which gives a reliable guide to what 2026 is likely to look like:

  • Thursday night (pre-carnival): The men’s team draw is typically broadcast live in the evening, usually from around 6:30pm to 7:30pm, streamed on NITV’s Facebook page and made available on SBS On Demand shortly after.
  • Friday afternoon: NITV News’ flagship Indigenous affairs program has historically gone live from the carnival grounds in the early-to-mid afternoon, generally broadcasting from around 3pm on SBS and again in the early evening on NITV.
  • Saturday: With pool games running throughout the day, full broadcast coverage has generally been reserved for the finals rounds, so Saturday is typically covered through online result updates, photo galleries, and highlights on NITV’s digital platforms rather than continuous live TV.
  • Sunday (semi-finals): Live match coverage has typically begun around 9am and run through the afternoon, covering men’s and women’s semi-final action from the main field.
  • Monday (grand final day): This is the marquee broadcast day. Coverage has typically started from around 9am and continued into the late afternoon, culminating in the men’s, women’s, and junior grand finals, broadcast live on both NITV and SBS On Demand.

Because 2026 falls on the standard October long weekend format (Friday to Monday), expect a similar shape: build-up and draw coverage midweek, spot coverage through the pool rounds, and full-day live broadcasts across the semi-final and grand final sessions. As always, keep in mind that on-air scheduling reflects Eastern Daylight Saving Time, so viewers outside NSW should double check their local time zone conversion, particularly if streaming online rather than watching a local TV simulcast.

Streaming Options If You’re Not Near a TV

Not everyone watching the Knockout will be sitting in front of a television, and NITV has built its coverage with that in mind. Here’s how to follow along if you’re out and about, travelling, or simply prefer to stream:

  • SBS On Demand app or website — mirrors the live TV broadcast for major sessions and hosts replays and highlights afterwards, all free to access.
  • NITV’s Facebook and Instagram pages — used for supplementary live crosses, particularly around the team draw and other build-up content that doesn’t always make it to the main TV schedule.
  • NITV’s YouTube channel — a common home for selected match replays and highlight packages once the live broadcast has wrapped for the day.
  • Hashtag tracking — following tags associated with the tournament on social platforms is a reliable way to catch community-shared sideline footage and instant reactions from fans and players at the grounds, especially for games not covered by the official broadcast.

Given the scale of the tournament — with pool matches often being played simultaneously across a dozen or more fields — it’s worth remembering that official broadcast coverage typically focuses on the marquee fixtures, particularly the men’s and women’s finals series. For everything else, community streams and social media are usually where the action gets shared first.

Why the Broadcast Matters

NITV’s coverage of the Koori Knockout isn’t just about relaying scores. Over the years it has become a platform for storytelling that runs alongside the football — interviews with players and Elders, features on individual communities and clubs, and coverage of the cultural elements that run through the entire weekend. Presenters and commentators are typically drawn from within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander broadcasting community, reflecting NITV’s broader mission of putting First Nations voices at the centre of the coverage rather than treating the tournament as just another sports fixture.

For NRL and NRLW scouts, the broadcast has also become a genuine talent-spotting tool, with several current professional players having first caught wider attention through Knockout coverage. Expect 2026’s broadcast to continue that tradition, spotlighting standout performers from grassroots teams alongside the more recognisable NRL and NRLW names who return to play for their communities each October.

Tips for Watching the 2026 Knockout on TV

If you want to make sure you don’t miss the key moments across the long weekend, a few practical tips:

  1. Check your local channel numbering. NITV’s channel position can vary slightly depending on your region and provider, so it’s worth confirming the correct channel number for your TV setup ahead of time rather than searching for it live on the day.
  2. Have SBS On Demand ready as a backup. Live TV schedules can shift, particularly around finals day if games run long, so having the streaming app open as a second option means you won’t miss extended coverage.
  3. Follow the official Koori Knockout and Newcastle Yowies pages in the lead-up. Detailed daily schedules, exact kickoff times, and any changes to the broadcast plan are typically confirmed closer to the event, once the draw is finalised.
  4. Set reminders for grand final day. Monday is consistently the biggest broadcast day of the carnival, with the most comprehensive live coverage and the tournament’s biggest moments.
  5. Don’t discount social media for gaps in coverage. With so many simultaneous games, official broadcast can’t cover everything — community streams often fill the gap for fans following a specific team.

Quick Reference: 2026 Koori Knockout Broadcast Snapshot

  • Dates: Friday 2 October – Monday 5 October 2026
  • Venue: Kings Park Sporting Complex, Raymond Terrace (Worimi Country)
  • Primary broadcaster: NITV, with simulcasts on SBS and streaming via SBS On Demand
  • Typical grand final day coverage: From around 9am, running through the afternoon
  • Cost to stream: Free via SBS On Demand
  • Best backup source: NITV’s official social media channels and community sideline streams

Final Word

Watching the Koori Knockout from home has never been easier, thanks to NITV and SBS’s long-running commitment to broadcasting one of Australia’s most significant Indigenous cultural and sporting events. While the finer details of the 2026 schedule — exact session times and any programming changes — will be confirmed closer to the October long weekend, the broadcast pattern of recent years gives a strong guide to what to expect: build-up coverage through the week, spot updates during the pool rounds, and full live coverage across semi-final Sunday and grand final Monday. Lock in NITV, keep SBS On Demand within reach, and get ready for four days of elite community rugby league and culture live from Raymond Terrace.

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