Next TV deal discussion 2028 -

[taste2taste]

Monday night was terrible for crowds, I hope it doesnt return. Nothing worse than watching a game on tv from an empty stadium, makes it look like nsw cup.

If they brought back Monday night footy they would have to manage the draw so all games were at suburban grounds.

Monday footy would look great at liechart, Belmore...etc

Currently Monday nights are owned by MAFS with 2mil viewers and a largely female audience, there is an opportunity for MNF to return and get that male audience.

 

[taste2taste]

NRL should be able to better the AFL on pay TV

But the NRL will never ever ever match the AFL on FTA.

As has been discussed here ad nauseam, the AFL offers 20 more minutes of in game commercials. The NRL have slightly more FTA viewers but not enough to make up for the revenue FTA can make by selling commercial space between quarters and after each goal.

No one should be getting thier hopes up that the NRL will come within Coowee of the AFL on the FTA portion of the deal

 

[BuffaloRules]

NRL should be able to better the AFL on pay TV

But the NRL will never ever ever match the AFL on FTA.

As has been discussed here ad nauseam, the AFL offers 20 more minutes of in game commercials. The NRL have slightly more FTA viewers but not enough to make up for the revenue FTA can make by selling commercial space between quarters and after each goal.

No one should be getting thier hopes up that the NRL will come within Coowee of the AFL on the FTA portion of the deal

I agree about the ad thing obviously ..but NRL also has Origin on FTA … three of the biggest FTA nights of the year every year which historically has not been priced separately ( publicly anyway)

 

[Cumberland Throw]

PVL timing is terrible gambling ad ban will take about $50m out of the ad pool

 

[BuffaloRules]

PVL timing is terrible gambling ad ban will take about $50m out of the ad pool

It’s about $60 million a year across both the AFL and NRL .. so not quite that bad when you are talking $800m a year TV deal the NRL journos are selling gright ?

 

[storm1999]

Currently Monday nights are owned by MAFS with 2mil viewers and a largely female audience, there is an opportunity for MNF to return and get that male audience.

There is no way Monday Night Football on 7 will make a dent in MAFS ratings... sports coverage is already at saturation point from Thursday to Sunday. MNF is a drawcard in America but they haven't just had 4 consecutive days of NFL games.

 

[insert.pause]

NRL should be able to better the AFL on pay TV

But the NRL will never ever ever match the AFL on FTA.

As has been discussed here ad nauseam, the AFL offers 20 more minutes of in game commercials. The NRL have slightly more FTA viewers but not enough to make up for the revenue FTA can make by selling commercial space between quarters and after each goal.

No one should be getting thier hopes up that the NRL will come within Coowee of the AFL on the FTA portion of the deal

The nrl has origin…

 

[storm1999]

The nrl has origin…

The AFL has Origin too, and can include all six states.

 

[stratocaster]

There’s no question the ad market isn’t what it once was for fta, but by all reports the nrl has done a very good job over the last few years to increase its audience on STV, and with Newscorp now out of fox the rights are ripe for the picking for the next 5-10years with a credible & established rival in either STAN or Paramount.

Stan is 9's only lifeline for long term survival. But not with its current content offering.

Yeah they`ll want a long contract as well so they can start to build a whole ecosystem (god I hate using that word) around NRL.

Same. The networks want stability in these uncertain times as they transition from FTA to streaming.

 

[Colk]

The AFL has Origin too, and can include all six states.

You mean the pre-season fixture?

 

[stratocaster]

If they brought back Monday night footy they would have to manage the draw so all games were at suburban grounds.

Monday footy would look great at liechart, Belmore...etc

Currently Monday nights are owned by MAFS with 2mil viewers and a largely female audience, there is an opportunity for MNF to return and get that male audience.

Let's say it's 27 rounds again. You wouldn't do MNF in the last round or Magic Round - that leaves 25. Of those:

Rd 1 - WA (Labour Day) - 4pm local for 7pm Eastern
Rd 2 - ACT, Vic or SA - public holiday
Easter - Easter Monday game
April - occasional Monday ANZAC day games
June - WA/ACT public holiday
June - King's Birthday - public holiday

So 5-6 MNF games could be played on public holidays. So that makes it 19-20 MNF games on non-holidays, which will be about 1 per team.

I'd definitely do what you said - play at Sydney suburb grounds. I'd also make those the lower tier inter-Sydney match ups (non-rivalries). Tigers vs Sharks @ Leichardt, Panthers vs Sea Eagles @ Penrith etc - because you'll get away fans who live local to attend as well. Then I'd have Wollongong, Canberra and Newcastle, as travel is easier in those areas.

The NRL have slightly more FTA viewers but not enough to make up for the revenue FTA can make by selling commercial space between quarters and after each goal.

No one should be getting thier hopes up that the NRL will come within Coowee of the AFL on the FTA portion of the deal

No argument there. That said the NRL can become more flexible about their FTA coverage. For instance, do you remember the Friday night doubleheaders? They were designed to boost ratings in NSW & QLD simultaneously by targeting the metros.

Now imagine instead of the second game being delayed, both games are live. The NRL can do that on Channel 9 on Saturday nights (6:30, 8:30) and Sunday afternoons (2:00, 4:00) Channel 10 could do in on Friday nights (6:00, 8:00) and Sunday evenings (3:30, 6:00).

Suddenly, that 2 hour game is a 4 hour block. Instead of targeting two markets with two teams, you're targeting four with four teams and getting follow through audiences, which FTA doesn't get with only single games. Imagine something like Bulldogs vs Storm followed by Broncos vs Bears.

I agree about the ad thing obviously ..but NRL also has Origin on FTA … three of the biggest FTA nights of the year every year which historically has not been priced separately ( publicly anyway)

I think Women's Origin and Kangaroos vs Kiwis Internationals are only going to get bigger and become more valuable.

 

[Colk]

Let's say it's 27 rounds again. You wouldn't do MNF in the last round or Magic Round - that leaves 25. Of those:

Rd 1 - WA (Labour Day) - 4pm local for 7pm Eastern
Rd 2 - ACT, Vic or SA - public holiday
Easter - Easter Monday game
April - occasional Monday ANZAC day games
June - WA/ACT public holiday
June - King's Birthday - public holiday

So 5-6 MNF games could be played on public holidays. So that makes it 19-20 MNF games on non-holidays, which will be about 1 per team.

I'd definitely do what you said - play at Sydney suburb grounds. I'd also make those the lower tier inter-Sydney match ups (non-rivalries). Tigers vs Sharks @ Leichardt, Panthers vs Sea Eagles @ Penrith etc - because you'll get away fans who live local to attend as well. Then I'd have Wollongong, Canberra and Newcastle, as travel is easier in those areas.


No argument there. That said the NRL can become more flexible about their FTA coverage. For instance, do you remember the Friday night doubleheaders? They were designed to boost ratings in NSW & QLD simultaneously by targeting the metros.

Now imagine instead of the second game being delayed, both games are live. The NRL can do that on Channel 9 on Saturday nights (6:30, 8:30) and Sunday afternoons (2:00, 4:00) Channel 10 could do in on Friday nights (6:00, 8:00) and Sunday evenings (3:30, 6:00).

Suddenly, that 2 hour game is a 4 hour block. Instead of targeting two markets with two teams, you're targeting four with four teams and getting follow through audiences, which FTA doesn't get with only single games. Imagine something like Bulldogs vs Storm followed by Broncos vs Bears.

I think Women's Origin and Kangaroos vs Kiwis Internationals are only going to get bigger and become more valuable.

I still don’t see how you can have Monday and Thursday night. You have to pick one. You can’t logically have both.

 

[storm1999]

You mean the pre-season fixture?

It still adds value to the deal, and has a lot of scope for growth. Could be moved to mid season depending on a number of fixture changes.

 

[BuffaloRules]

I think Women's Origin and Kangaroos vs Kiwis Internationals are only going to get bigger and become more valuable.

I think the internationals ( non World Cups) will be sold separately and the money will be shared amongst the international country federations … I think on past deals this has just been a throw in for nothing … it now has some real value

 

[storm1999]

Channel 10 could do in on Friday nights (6:00, 8:00)

Sorry but this would be an unmitigated disaster. Nobody watches 10 on Fridays, and the 6pm game would be slaughtered by the well established 6pm News services on 7 and 9.

 

[stratocaster]

There is no way Monday Night Football on 7 will make a dent in MAFS ratings... sports coverage is already at saturation point from Thursday to Sunday. MNF is a drawcard in America but they haven't just had 4 consecutive days of NFL games.

No not 4 days of NFL games, but don't discount college football from that equation.

Some weeks depending on your media market, time zone and what streaming service you can access, you can have Thursday Night, 1-2 College games, Sunday Afternoon, evening and Sunday Night - access from anywhere from 6 to 21 hours of live football - and that's before Monday.

I wouldn't call the NRL's current 6 hours of FTA coverage oversaturation.

The AFL has Origin too, and can include all six states.

Can is the key word there.

It's a pre-season game that AFL clubs will continue to undermine because of player injuries and has nowhere near the intensity of the NRL's game because it doesn't have the same weight of meaning to the players.

Good luck with those 6 state games. Will the NSW-QLD-ACT Allies be back?

 

[BuffaloRules]

It still adds value to the deal, and has a lot of scope for growth. Could be moved to mid season depending on a number of fixture changes.

the AFL clubs won’t allow it mid season… if they were forced expect a lot of guys “injured “… AFL just doesn’t get Origin

 

[storm1999]

Good luck with those 6 state games. Will the NSW-QLD-ACT Allies be back?

There is scope for a bye weekend to include three Origin games,.eg.
Fri N: SA v Vic
Sat: WA v Qld
Sun: NSW v Tas

Yes, some of the teams wouldn't be as strong but my point is all states are included, while in the NRL model 4 out of 6 states are always excluded.

 

[stratocaster]

I still don’t see how you can have Monday and Thursday night. You have to pick one. You can’t logically have both.

Says who? Go to the states where you'll have some kind of major league sports game on most nights of the week, including week nights. By comparison having NRL games on both Monday and Thursday is quaint.

Having games five days a week allows the NRL to dominate the sports media cycle. Guys like PVL know this.

 

[BuffaloRules]

There is no way Monday Night Football on 7 will make a dent in MAFS ratings...

What absolute rubbish ..

Also Does MAFS run 26 weeks of the NRL season ?