Nine to air Schapelle telemovie on Sunday

The Nine Network has decided to air its telemovie Schapelle on Sunday night, a day earlier than originally scheduled.

That means Nine will air the drama, about the arrest, trial and conviction of drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, in direct competition with another heavily promoted local drama - the Seven biopic INXS: Never Tear Us Apart - in the 8.30pm Sunday timeslot.

Schapelle stars Krew Boylan as the former beauty school student who was sentenced to 20 years' jail after marijuana was found in her boogie board bag in Bali in 2004.

On Friday Nine announced it would carry "rolling coverage" on the parole hearing and latest developments in Indonesia "as events surrounding the impending release of Schapelle Corby continue to build momentum".

That fuelled speculation the network has secured exclusive interviews with the Corby family, but a Nine spokesperson would not confirm that and it is believed all the networks are scrambling for interviews.

Schapelle, which also stars Colin Friels and Denise Roberts, is based partly on Eamonn Duff's book Sins of the Father. It was made by FremantleMedia for the Nine Network.