18th club, whose next?

[mongoose]

Media analyst Colin Smith said the NRL should forget about Adelaide and Perth if it wishes to generate more revenue from the broadcasters. He's in favour of Brisbane 3, New Zealand 2, Melbourne 2 and PNG.

yeah PNG will bring in those TV dollars. Colin Smith = moron.

 

[Canard]

yeah PNG will bring in those TV dollars. Colin Smith = moron.

Be keen to understand what a media analyst take is on PNG and the regions geopolitical situation.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

yeah PNG will bring in those TV dollars. Colin Smith = moron.

Colin Smith has worked with the NRL on previous broadcast deals.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Here we go with Colin Smith again. Do you work for him by chance? Do you get paid every time you mention him?

Do you have anything useful to add to the conversation, or are you just going to make petty personal attacks to deflect attention away from the subject?

My point is a media analyst who has worked with the NRL on previous broadcast deals doesn't believe the NRL will benefit from having a "national" footprint. You're more than welcome to explain why you disagree with his position.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The man who holds the key to TV sport
By Roy Masters
April 22, 2010 — 3.00am

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Broadcasting rights fees are the lifeblood of professional sport in Australia and, along with its close relation, sponsorship, contributes 60 to 80 per cent of total revenue.

More than $350 million in TV income pumps through Australian sport annually, with one player involved in all the big contracts, either the current deals, or negotiations for the next rights fee package.

He is Colin Smith, a 50-year-old Melburnian, who, despite his surname being the most common in the English-speaking world, is the only Smith common to the caller ID's of the phones of Australia's top sporting officials.

He logs more air miles than most pilots, crossing the country as the boss of LEK's regional Sports, Gaming, Media and Entertainment division, as well as recently linking up with the former Cricket Australia and ICC boss, Mal Speed, to form Global Media and Sports, a firm specialising in negotiating broadcasting deals for sports.

Smith worked on the biggest TV deal in sporting history - the AFL's five-year, $780 million contract - in tandem with Ben Buckley, who is now the chief executive of the FFA.

Buckley and Smith lodged the AFL's initial claim for rights fees to the Channel Seven-Ten consortium at only 4 per cent of the sum the then Channel Nine boss, Kerry Packer lodged, forcing Seven-Ten to meet it under their first and last rights clause.

Smith is advising the NRL chief executive, David Gallop, on rugby league's next broadcasting contract, which hopes to deliver parity with the AFL.

Smith helped ARU chief John O'Neill with the soon-to-be-announced SANZAR rights, and helped Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland with the last TV deal and is involved in the next round of rights. Thoroughbred racing, including the AJC, VRC and Queensland Racing, consult with Smith and AOC chairman, John Coates, has engaged him on digital rights.

Even exotic deals - advising PNG on the broadcasting value it can bring to the NRL as a possible new franchise and preparing a brief for ANZ Stadium on the likely TV income of a possible hybrid rules match between the Kangaroos and Wallabies - are on his desk.

The big professional sports are lining up like formula one cars at the grid, as anticipated changes to the federal government's anti-siphoning rules are expected to favour the cash-strapped free-to-air broadcasters.

Rugby union media rights are first out, with the Wallabies and Super 15 deals soon to be announced. The AFL is next, with its contract concluding in 2011, followed by the NRL a year later. Cricket is the last of the big sports to finish existing deals.

Smith rejects claims his multiplicity of deal-making exposes him to accusations of conflict of interest, saying, ''I am acting for the sport, and not the sport and the broadcaster at the same time. If I was doing the AFL and the NRL at the same time, it would be a problem.''

Smith is convinced all sports will receive more from their next broadcasting deals. ''I am very confident that the leading professional sports will continue to grow. Popular sports guarantee TV audiences. The fragmentation of audiences across more channels on free-to-air and pay TV, and now through broadband, will ensure an increase in overall audiences watching the game and holding it for longer.''

Nor does he see an increase in one sport's rights income necessarily being at the expense of another, although it seems certain Channel Nine - desperate to hold NRL rights - will not pitch seriously for AFL, leaving the Seven-Ten consortium as the only bidder.

He cites NRL as an ''excellent TV product'' and notes Gallop is considering unbundling the existing rights of the Telstra premiership, State of Origin and Four Nations tournament, although Channel Nine believes its first-and-last rights deal prevents the NRL from doing this.

Of rugby union, he says: ''The new SANZAR Melbourne team in Australia's second-largest market, together with a guaranteed finalist from the five Australian teams, will give the competition a real boost. Last year, the Waratahs effectively disappeared off our TV screens for three weeks because they were playing in South Africa after midnight in Australia. This will happen less under the new contract.''

Of cricket: ''The international runaway success of the Twenty20, especially IPL, is a clear indicator the market has adopted another form of cricket. Similarly, the success of the KFC Big Bash this season, with the inclusion of international players, has been a big success.''

However, the Australian sports market is highly competitive, with more national leagues per million of population than any other nation.

''There are clubs that are financially challenged,'' Smith said, pointing to Super 14's Queensland Reds, recently taken over by the ARU; the A-League's North Queensland Fury being bailed out by FFA; the AFL's Port Adelaide, which sought a merger with a more cashed-up second-tier club; and NRL team Cronulla's ongoing problems with the bottom line.

''The picture for the football codes is rosy only while all teams are competitive and guaranteeing an audience to TV.''

Smith is a gold medal-winning rower, winning Australia's first ever World Championship in the lightweight fours at Lucerne in 1974. He subsequently won medals at the following three World Championships and, as chairman of Rowing Australia, he will lead the sport to the London Olympics.

While he may have multiple oars in the water at once, he is confident he can negotiate the murky waters of Australian TV, with its history of conspiring to depress rights fees to sport.

The man who holds the key to TV sport

amp.smh.com.au

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

NRL TV deal 'comparable' to AFL one: expert analyst
Adrian Proszenko
By Adrian Proszenko
Updated November 26, 2015 — 6.29pmfirst published at 6.08pm

The man who masterminded the NRL's last broadcast deal has labelled the latest, soon-to-be-minted one a "great outcome" for rugby league and comparable to the one negotiated by the AFL.

The governing body was putting the final touches on Thursday night on a new deal worth an estimated $1.9 billion, a figure expected to crack the $2 billion mark once naming and international rights are sold.

The landmark agreement was made possible after Fox Sports came back to the negotiating table, triggered by the demise of former NRL chief executive Dave Smith and rival Optus' successful bid for English Premier League rights. All eight games will be shown in high definition on Fox Sports each round as part of a simulcast arrangement that resulted in Nine giving up the Saturday evening slot it had initially purchased.

Global Media and Sports boss Colin Smith, who worked for the NRL on the last TV deal and has also advised the AFL and ARU in previous negotiations, said the renegotiated contract was "comparable" to that brokered by Australian Rules. "Fox Sports needs the NRL and the NRL needs Fox Sports. The next round of rights, whenever that is, less so," Smith said.

"It's a great outcome for the NRL. My worry was, if the deal had stayed as is, the deal would have been $500 to $600 million behind the AFL, which is not good. If it had gone to some sort of streaming service the less popular clubs – the Storm, Raiders, Knights and Warriors – would have been on a less popular platform. So it's great for the NRL. The brilliant deal that comes out is Channel Nine, they bought themselves an option and got a Christmas present when Optus did the deal with the English Premier League. They now have the coverage they want and not paid much for it.

"What they have on-sold that to Fox Sports is a great deal for Channel Nine. As I understand it Telstra have the coverage they now need and it still keeps Fox Sports as the preeminent subscription broadcaster of the AFL and NRL.

"The term of the deal is great. Everyone's a winner other … [except fans without Foxtel]."

Smith believes the NRL's deal could have trumpeted that of rival code Australian Rules if expansion was undertaken. "They could have got more if they put another team into south-east Queensland or Brisbane," he said. "I know all broadcasters want it.

"You could argue the EPL was the catalyst that made this happen. If it stayed with Channel Nine as is, the rest of the product wasn't great."

The emergence of what Smith called 'disrupters' – including the likes of Google, Facebook and Netflix – were brought to the negotiating table for the first time. However, it's more likely they will become serious contenders for premium sporting content when the next set of rights are renegotiated.

NRL heavy hitters including chairman John Grant and commissioners Jeremy Suttcliffe and Graeme Samuel emerged from a second day of marathon meetings at Rugby League Central at 5pm on Thursday. While there was no official announcement, the deal is all but complete and the NRL is expected to formally sign off on Friday.

Smith described his namesake, the former NRL boss, as a "scapegoat" after Foxtel was initially left out of the loop in the Nine deal. "The commission signed off on it," he said.

NRL TV deal 'comparable' to AFL one: expert analyst

The man who masterminded the NRL's last broadcast deal has labelled the latest, soon-to-be-minted one a "great outcome" for rugby league and comparable to the one negotiated by the AFL.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Wb1234]

Ah the good old days with gallop threatening to unbundle origin games for more tv dollars

totally forgot north qld had an a league side

 

[Iamback]

Posters who were doing there nut over the suggestion that Sydney has too many teams, are now openly advocates for the culling of Sydney teams.

No. More like it is never going to happen

 

[Iamback]

I’m surprised nobody’s shown any concern of TV dictating what clubs should come into the NRL. They’ve undervalued the game for years, interfered with scheduling and now this.
I can already see how the next TV negotiations go where they lowball us and V’landys asks, “why can’t we get as much as AFL?” To which they respond, “they’re bigger than you as they have a nation-wide footprint whereas you are confined to the east.”

Because I doubt other TV networks are much different.

Perth is going to be almost exclusively on Fox, of course FTA will little interest.

A game kicking off 6pm local time for the East just doesn't work.

 

[Iamback]

They wouldn’t admit that though. They would use some other excuse that the game couldn’t fix.

Look at the time slots FTA has, What suits for Perth?

No one wants the game into qtrs or stoppages too

 

[Bukowski]

Look at the time slots FTA has, What suits for Perth?

No one wants the game into qtrs or stoppages too

Perth times? All of them. 6pm on thurs and Friday, 2pm Sunday.

 

[Iamback]

Perth times? All of them. 6pm on thurs and Friday, 2pm Sunday.

What sort of crowd are they pulling on a Thursday night at 6pm?

Sunday yes but PayTV has the rest of the schedule, I doubt FTA would be too keen. PayTV though. Different story

 

[Bukowski]

What sort of crowd are they pulling on a Thursday night at 6pm?

Sunday yes but PayTV has the rest of the schedule, I doubt FTA would be too keen. PayTV though. Different story

About the same as current clubs get at 8pm on a Thursday.
I know the game in Perth this year is on ch9 on Friday night.

 

[Canard]

I'd say it's a bit more ingrained in their sporting culture to attend games in weird timeslots given that, you know, they have multiple other professional sports involved in East Coast competitions.

 

[Bukowski]

I'd say it's a bit more ingrained in their sporting culture to attend games in weird timeslots given that, you know, they have multiple other professional sports involved in East Coast competitions.

1pm start when it 42 degs a week or so ago for BBL wasnt a great idea.

 

[Wb1234]

NRL TV deal 'comparable' to AFL one: expert analyst​

Adrian Proszenko​

By Adrian Proszenko​

Updated November 26, 2015 — 6.29pmfirst published at 6.08pm​

​

The man who masterminded the NRL's last broadcast deal has labelled the latest, soon-to-be-minted one a "great outcome" for rugby league and comparable to the one negotiated by the AFL.​

​

The governing body was putting the final touches on Thursday night on a new deal worth an estimated $1.9 billion, a figure expected to crack the $2 billion mark once naming and international rights are sold.​

​

The landmark agreement was made possible after Fox Sports came back to the negotiating table, triggered by the demise of former NRL chief executive Dave Smith and rival Optus' successful bid for English Premier League rights. All eight games will be shown in high definition on Fox Sports each round as part of a simulcast arrangement that resulted in Nine giving up the Saturday evening slot it had initially purchased.​

​

Global Media and Sports boss Colin Smith,​

​

"It's a great outcome for the NRL. My worry was, if the deal had stayed as is, the deal would have been $500 to $600 million behind the AFL, which is not good. If it had gone to some sort of streaming service the less popular clubs – the Storm, Raiders, Knights and Warriors – would have been on a less popular platform. So it's great for the NRL. The brilliant deal that comes out is Channel Nine, they bought themselves an option and got a Christmas present when Optus did the deal with the English Premier League. They now have the coverage they want and not paid much for it.​

​

"What they have on-sold that to Fox Sports is a great deal for Channel Nine. As I understand it Telstra have the coverage they now need and it still keeps Fox Sports as the preeminent subscription broadcaster of the AFL and NRL.​

​

"The term of the deal is great. Everyone's a winner other … [except fans without Foxtel]."​

​

Smith believes the NRL's deal could have trumpeted that of rival code Australian Rules if expansion was undertaken. "They could have got more if they put another team into south-east Queensland or Brisbane," he said. "I know all broadcasters want it.​

​

"You could argue the EPL was the catalyst that made this happen. If it stayed with Channel Nine as is, the rest of the product wasn't great."​

​

The emergence of what Smith called 'disrupters' – including the likes of Google, Facebook and Netflix – were brought to the negotiating table for the first time. However, it's more likely they will become serious contenders for premium sporting content when the next set of rights are renegotiated.​

​

NRL heavy hitters including chairman John Grant and commissioners Jeremy Suttcliffe and Graeme Samuel emerged from a second day of marathon meetings at Rugby League Central at 5pm on Thursday. While there was no official announcement, the deal is all but complete and the NRL is expected to formally sign off on Friday.​

​

Smith described his namesake, the former NRL boss, as a "scapegoat" after Foxtel was initially left out of the loop in the Nine deal. "The commission signed off on it," he said.​

​

NRL TV deal 'comparable' to AFL one: expert analyst

The man who masterminded the NRL's last broadcast deal has labelled the latest, soon-to-be-minted one a "great outcome" for rugby league and comparable to the one negotiated by the AFL.

www.smh.com.au

What sort of crowd are they pulling on a Thursday night at 6pm?

Sunday yes but PayTV has the rest of the schedule, I doubt FTA would be too keen. PayTV though. Different story

Who in Perth hasn’t already got foxsports or Kayo

both afl and nrl fans will have it

so a Perth nrl team will add wa subscribers how ?

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Perth times? All of them. 6pm on thurs and Friday, 2pm Sunday.

You're an idiot.

 

[Iamback]

About the same as current clubs get at 8pm on a Thursday.
I know the game in Perth this year is on ch9 on Friday night.

So 12k then

You don't think they will push for Sat/Sunday games to draw a better crowd?

 

[Bukowski]

So 12k then

You don't think they will push for Sat/Sunday games to draw a better crowd?

Of course they will. No east coast club wants 6pm Friday or 8pm Thursday either. Every club gets a couple of games each year not at ideal times. Maybe not the Broncos....

 

[Iamback]

I'd say it's a bit more ingrained in their sporting culture to attend games in weird timeslots given that, you know, they have multiple other professional sports involved in East Coast competitions.

Again this is where google can help

Force play their Friday night games at 7pm

Scorchers always play late our time

Wildcats like scorchers are the 2nd game on at night

No one watch A League anyway

You realise the AFL sides over there have very very few Weeknight games?

West Coast have none for the next season

It will interesting if that changes when ch7 has set games it has to show