However, the News Corp plan is reliant on Channel 9 surrendering the Saturday night match it recently secured from 2018 in the record $925 million free-to-air deal and moving one of its two Friday night matches to Thursday night.

Fairfax Media has been told that News Corp executives are keen to finalise a deal with the NRL quickly after Optus last week snatched the rights to the English Premier League from Fox Sports and details of the proposal have been outlined in the company's newspapers.

It is estimated that the deal would increase the total value of the NRL broadcast rights to $1.85 billion over five years.

The haste with which News now wants to proceed has taken NRL officials by surprise after negotiations had previously stalled in the wake of the deal with Nine for four free-to-air matches per week from 2018 to 2022.

Nine is also believed to have not yet officially received details of the proposal. Fairfax Media was told on Monday that rumours of an earlier kick-off time on Friday nights may have been caused by confusion over the 6.30pm kick-off for next season's opening game in Townsville due to daylight saving.

Under the proposal, Nine would give up one Friday night match to Fox Sports, which would be broadcast at 6pm in a bid to attract fans in pubs after work.

In return, Fox Sports would scrap Monday night football, which is not included in the new television deal, to enable Nine to broadcast a match every Thursday night from next season.

The deal is reported to be contingent on Nine selling back the Saturday night match to enable Fox Sports to maintain its Super Saturday franchise.

As a result, only three matches per week would be broadcast on free-to-air rather than the four departing NRL chief executive Dave Smith boasted about after announcing the deal with Nine in August.

Since then, Nine chiefs have repeatedly told Fairfax Media the network was not prepared to sell the Saturday night match unless they received an offer too good to refuse.

It is also remains to be seen whether Nine can be convinced to allow Fox Sports to broadcast a 6pm Friday night game, as the number of viewers who would watch it in a pub and then return home for the second match at 8pm is difficult to quantify.

News has indicated they would offer Nine $15 million per season to enable Fox Sports to simulcast the free-to-air matches.

The development and the gushing tone of reports in News Corp papers comes after Rupert Murdoch recently told a press conference to announce the AFL's $2.5 billion, six year broadcast deal: "We have always preferred Aussie Rules".

Murdoch also vowed to use his media outlets to promote AFL in NSW and Queensland but negotiations with the NRL have stepped up since Smith announced his departure three weeks ago.

If Nine and the NRL were to accept the proposal, there would be a match played every Thursday night, two matches on Friday night, three on Saturday and two Sunday games from next season.

It has been suggested that the majority of the 6pm Friday night matches would be played in New Zealand.