Is Channel 9 the home of rugby league?

[taipan]

My bugbear.
It was well known back in the mid 90s the ARL had about $20m in the Bank. Diidn't know the AFL had about $6m.What I did know ,the AFL were feeling a tad discomfortable then, as rugby league was then considered a serious threat.
We all know the SL war ensured the piggy bank ,was emptied faster than a bomb threat in a Kabul theatre.
We were screwed on TV deal after TV deal, as Gallop was a former News lawyer and we we half owned by that organisation.
Yes we have had some incompetence in the last few years ,not of News making but NRL H/O

Let's imagine(no disrespect to John Lennon) no SL war,Quayle and Arko going on with expansion but realising no clubs needed be axed or relocated,where would we be now?

I'd suggest we'd have Perth and a 2nd Brisbane team already in(Melbourne of course),with independent TV negotiations and controlled budgets,I'd venture to say we'd have at least $ 200m in the Bank, plus we'd have equity(in part) in Parra stadium and in a new SFS.
Oh and we'd have a Tv deal, which would show the game in non heartland areas at respectable times and actually promote the code.The TV station would most likely be ch10.

 

[TheRam]

Gus being his melodramatic self next to Rabs

Back to your post, there's a very similar parallel between the degeneration of the quality of Gus Gould's and Shane Warne's (when Ch9 had the cricket rights) commentary at Ch9.

When you listen to highlights of old RL matches during the mid '90s when Gus Gould first started at Ch9 as a fill-in commentator (since he was still coaching first grade), you wouldn't think it's the same Gus that you hear today. He was very insightful, and solely focused on what was happening on the field, none of these theatrics, grumpy all men routine with Rabs, "NO NO NO NO NO!" or "DEAR OH DEAR OH DEAR!".

Likewise, when Shane Warne started as a guest commentator during his playing days whilst he was out injured in the early 2000's, his commentary was also solely focused on the cricket.
Then years later when he became a full-timer (around 2008/09) alongside personnel such as Michael Slater, James Brayshaw et al, whatever insightful things Warney used to say completely got put on the scrapheap in favour of all these stupid jokes, running tv viewer polls about favourite pizza toppings (oh dear, who could forget that?) etc. It was very immature, and unprofessional and completely detracted from what was happening on-field (especially during close matches).

Simply explained, they got bored(especially Gould) and too comfortable.

I remember decades ago when Kerry Packer was watching the cricket one day, as the story goes, he heard the commentators of the day repeatedly referring back to anecdotes of past glories and trivial wanky crap that had nothing to do with the play before them. Well he apparently immediately picked up the phone and called in and told them that the next man that utters a word about any past glories or anything not pertaining to the play at hand, won't have a job tomorrow. Needless to say from that moment on the cricket commentary rose to a new level.

Sadly, Packer's not with us anymore and the chickens rule the roost.

 

[TheRam]

My bugbear.
It was well known back in the mid 90s the ARL had about $20m in the Bank. Diidn't know the AFL had about $6m.What I did know ,the AFL were feeling a tad discomfortable then, as rugby league was then considered a serious threat.
We all know the SL war ensured the piggy bank ,was emptied faster than a bomb threat in a Kabul theatre.
We were screwed on TV deal after TV deal, as Gallop was a former News lawyer and we we half owned by that organisation.
Yes we have had some incompetence in the last few years ,not of News making but NRL H/O

Let's imagine(no disrespect to John Lennon) no SL war,Quayle and Arko going on with expansion but realising no clubs needed be axed or relocated,where would we be now?

I'd suggest we'd have Perth and a 2nd Brisbane team already in(Melbourne of course),with independent TV negotiations and controlled budgets,I'd venture to say we'd have at least $ 200m in the Bank, plus we'd have equity(in part) in Parra stadium and in a new SFS.
Oh and we'd have a Tv deal, which would show the game in non heartland areas at respectable times and actually promote the code.The TV station would most likely be ch10.

And if Jerry Harvey wasn't such a blase wanker when it comes to certain things, the NRL might now be owners of the 10 network. But that is another story.

 

[taipan]

And if Jerry Harvey wasn't such a blase wanker when it comes to certain things, the NRL might now be owners of the 10 network. But that is another story.

Interesting ,fill me in on the Harvey thingo . Knew ch10 were in sh*tter's ditch one time.

 

[TheRam]

Interesting ,fill me in on the Harvey thingo . Knew ch10 were in sh*tter's ditch one time.

I can't remember all the details now, Roy Masters wrote about it some years ago in his SMH column I believe. But the story goes along the lines of something like this.

TEN was struggling financially and the network was going for a song. Singo, Harvey and the ARL(Arthurson and Quayle) at the time saw this as the perfect time to move in and purchase it and basically run the network as the Rugby League network and also maybe on sell some games or whatever gave them the best return. The point would be that they would be the masters of their own universe and they knew that at that point in time the AFL would not be able to compete with RL having their own Network.

Well Gerry Harvey, I think twice, the last one being as certain day of the week where he has a meal with his family, didn't turn up on time for the meeting with the big execs to negotiate the deal. The execs therefore didn't take the ARL's consortium seriously and pulled the pin and went in another direction.

Imagine if this had happened, the AFL at the time was still struggling to restructure itself and had fu*k all money or assets. The ARL would of beamed prime time games into Victoria, Adelaide and WA and promoted the sh*t out of it without any of the negativity that goes on today and how on the nose the NRL has turned out to be in those States in particular. They would have put RL teams into those States before AFL had a chance to dominate those peoples minds completely and now the Australian sporting landscape would be totally different.

Also politicians would of been in fear of the ARL(NRL) as they would have had the power to sway Aussie minds one way or another. For example stadiums would of been built when and wherever the NRL wanted them. No more grovelling and dare I say it, ANZ stadium would not be an oval stadium today and we would probably own it by now along with others. Who knows what other wonderful benefits would of presented themselves over the years, with a national populous that supports RL and a much weakened AFL, therefore much less resistance to do things and the media on our side? Sliding doors.

When you have the power of the ink barrel, you have the ear of many.

 

[Foreign Legion]

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sp...ay-for-exclusive-matches-20200411-p54j2q.html

The days of rugby league matches being broadcast simultaneously on free-to-air and pay TV are under threat. That’s what I read into the scathing review of the NRL by Nine during the week.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg wanted to strike back, as he interpreted it as an attack on him, but he was talked down by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys. Members of the commission saw it as an attack on them.


I’ve been told Nine doesn’t want out of league. However, it might adopt a less-is-more approach: less competition for eyeballs via an exclusive arrangement, and perhaps less games on free-to-air TV – perhaps two instead of three games each round.

Nine wants to work with Fox Sports and a conversation may be had about the division of games. Right now, NRL games are shown on Nine and Fox on Thursday and Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. That may change.
Now to the emotion of the issue.


It appears that Nine neither trusts nor likes Greenberg.

The leaking of details of the competition has not sat well with Nine; reading or hearing about a competition structure has not gone down well.

Nor has the fact they have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a sport only to see that it is as sturdy as a house of cards in a hurricane.
The Nine and NRL brands are closely linked. In the world of sport and business, a financially flimsy partner is not a great look.

 

[TheRam]

What, less games on free to air? What!!!?

So just because CH9 is as good(terrible) as the NRL at managing their own affairs, they now want to rein in the expenses and therefore are angling to show less games and therefore to pay less for the rights?

So the game suffers overall and the AFL just keeps thriving. We need more games on free to air(Saturday nights against the AFL's) not less. I know families that have started to watch AFL on Saturday nights because they don't have RL to watch. So lets reduce it even further. Great strategy. The AFL must be wetting their pants with excitement over this prospect.

 

[taipan]

I can't remember all the details now, Roy Masters wrote about it some years ago in his SMH column I believe. But the story goes along the lines of something like this.

TEN was struggling financially and the network was going for a song. Singo, Harvey and the ARL(Arthurson and Quayle) at the time saw this as the perfect time to move in and purchase it and basically run the network as the Rugby League network and also maybe on sell some games or whatever gave them the best return. The point would be that they would be the masters of their own universe and they knew that at that point in time the AFL would not be able to compete with RL having their own Network.

Well Gerry Harvey, I think twice, the last one being as certain day of the week where he has a meal with his family, didn't turn up on time for the meeting with the big execs to negotiate the deal. The execs therefore didn't take the ARL's consortium seriously and pulled the pin and went in another direction.

Imagine if this had happened, the AFL at the time was still struggling to restructure itself and had fu*k all money or assets. The ARL would of beamed prime time games into Victoria, Adelaide and WA and promoted the sh*t out of it without any of the negativity that goes on today and how on the nose the NRL has turned out to be in those States in particular. They would have put RL teams into those States before AFL had a chance to dominate those peoples minds completely and now the Australian sporting landscape would be totally different.

Also politicians would of been in fear of the ARL(NRL) as they would have had the power to sway Aussie minds one way or another. For example stadiums would of been built when and wherever the NRL wanted them. No more grovelling and dare I say it, ANZ stadium would not be an oval stadium today and we would probably own it by now along with others. Who knows what other wonderful benefits would of presented themselves over the years, with a national populous that supports RL and a much weakened AFL, therefore much less resistance to do things and the media on our side? Sliding doors.

When you have the power of the ink barrel, you have the ear of many.

The opportunities our game has missed over the decades, due to bastardry and incompetence, drives me to drink.Ever since 1995 it's been one step forward, two steps back, bloody disgraceful.

 

[tri_colours]

The opportunities our game has missed over the decades, due to bastardry and incompetence, drives me to drink.Ever since 1995 it's been one step forward, two steps back, bloody disgraceful.

The amazing part is there are still people out there who think the SL war was a good thing.

 

[Perth Red]

Vlandys is already caving in to nine and is clearly somehow connected to news ltd (is there a nsw racing connection with news ltd?).

I have a very bad feeling about what is coming with the next tv deal.

 

[Heisenberg]

Vlandys is already caving in to nine and is clearly somehow connected to news ltd (is there a nsw racing connection with news ltd?).

I have a very bad feeling about what is coming with the next tv deal.

Does NSW Racing pay News to print the form guide in the Telegraph or does the money go the other way?

 

[Perth Red]

What a surprise, turns out ch9 was lying.

But he insisted broadcasters had been part of the discussion as the NRL plans for what best suits all parties when the competition resumes on May 28.

"I've heard a couple of times that we have had no consultation with broadcasters. I can tell you categorically that's not true," Greenberg told the Continuous Call Team on Sunday.

"I have met with all three broadcasters in the past two weeks, and that includes Nine, Foxtel and (international rights holder) Sky TV.

"All of them have been in consultation with us the whole way through leading into these Project Apollo meetings and the concept of the structure of the tournament."

Nine's attack came over the what they claimed was a misuse of funds by head office, as well as reported frustration they were not involved in the Project Apollodiscussions.

The network have also claimed their television contract had been unfulfilled by the code, and told the stock exchange last week they could save up to $130 million if the NRL was cancelled for 2020.

The scathing appraisal comes at a time when Greenberg's position is under immense pressure, with his contract up at the end of the year.

"I was disappointed in some of those comments that came out from Nine last week," Greenberg said.

"Those discussions I think we should have together behind closed doors.

"The negotiations will get a bit robust and they are already a bit robust.
https://au.sports.yahoo.com/nrl-ceo...ms-broadcaster-wasnt-consulted-213359470.html

 

[franklin2323]

What, less games on free to air? What!!!?

So just because CH9 is as good(terrible) as the NRL at managing their own affairs, they now want to rein in the expenses and therefore are angling to show less games and therefore to pay less for the rights?

So the game suffers overall and the AFL just keeps thriving. We need more games on free to air(Saturday nights against the AFL's) not less. I know families that have started to watch AFL on Saturday nights because they don't have RL to watch. So lets reduce it even further. Great strategy. The AFL must be wetting their pants with excitement over this prospect.

Last time I saw their coverage. There were 4 commentators at the ground for the pre-game. Then another 4 for the game coverage. Good place to start to save money

 

[Cactus]

Seems to me that negotiating the next broadcast contract would be far easier, more civil and less fraught with lie and deceit if it was done with some other network without all the baggage of 9 and whats left of its print media minions

 

[taipan]

Vlandys is already caving in to nine and is clearly somehow connected to news ltd (is there a nsw racing connection with news ltd?).

I have a very bad feeling about what is coming with the next tv deal.

If he was caving in ,I doubt he'd be pushing so hard for May 28th start.Especially as Nein told shareholders they'll save $125m if it doesn't go ahead.
IMO he is playing diplomat ,to stop them chucking more public wetties.
He'd also know ch10 is sniffing around the corner, wanting a slice of the action.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

If he was caving in ,I doubt he'd be pushing so hard for May 28th start.Especially as Nein told shareholders they'll save $125m if it doesn't go ahead.
IMO he is playing diplomat ,to stop them chucking more public wetties.
He'd also know ch10 is sniffing around the corner, wanting a slice of the action.

Yeh, there is definitely a difference between “caving in” and Realizing that screaming back makes you look like as much of a dipshit as them (and that screaming back doesnt really achieve anything

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sp...ay-for-exclusive-matches-20200411-p54j2q.html

The days of rugby league matches being broadcast simultaneously on free-to-air and pay TV are under threat. That’s what I read into the scathing review of the NRL by Nine during the week.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg wanted to strike back, as he interpreted it as an attack on him, but he was talked down by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys. Members of the commission saw it as an attack on them.


I’ve been told Nine doesn’t want out of league. However, it might adopt a less-is-more approach: less competition for eyeballs via an exclusive arrangement, and perhaps less games on free-to-air TV – perhaps two instead of three games each round.

Nine wants to work with Fox Sports and a conversation may be had about the division of games. Right now, NRL games are shown on Nine and Fox on Thursday and Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. That may change.
Now to the emotion of the issue.


It appears that Nine neither trusts nor likes Greenberg.

The leaking of details of the competition has not sat well with Nine; reading or hearing about a competition structure has not gone down well.

Nor has the fact they have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a sport only to see that it is as sturdy as a house of cards in a hurricane.
The Nine and NRL brands are closely linked. In the world of sport and business, a financially flimsy partner is not a great look.

2 FTA games instead of 3?

That sounds great!!! Just shift the other over to C10 and we’re set

 

[tri_colours]

Seems to me that negotiating the next broadcast contract would be far easier, more civil and less fraught with lie and deceit if it was done with some other network without all the baggage of 9 and whats left of its print media minions

Maybe they need to invest in a lie detector before the next rights deal.

 

[Starkers]

Not sure what to make of it all. But suspect Ch9 has gone out hard and will potentially backfire if they want to extend the deal for less money. This situation is transitory, which is why Vlandys is so keen to get a short term thing happening to prop it up until normal transmission resumes.

IMO the worst possible situation would be reversion to exclusivity with Ch9. They have presided over ageing technology and commentary teams with little to no innovation for some time now. Fox is at least trying. They've changed their commentary up and added features each season.

They have their problems too, but ratings are holding in well and slightly growing on Fox in comparison to Ch9's continued drop. How would you explain to your board that fans are prepared to pay for a better product than watch yours for free?

Ideally I would love to see the NRL improve their FTA footprint on the next deal, as they attempted to with the existing one but Ch9 thwarted regular Saturday night viewing for whatever reasons.

7.30 Thur, 7.30 Fri, 3pm Sat, 7.30pm Sat, 4pm Sunday with the games actually starting at the scheduled times instead of when Ch9 wants them to. Fox should be able to simulcast Origin and GF also.

 

[undertaker]